Dual wielding volcanoes, killing through the west

The sky was overcast, and a light rain began to fall.

When they passed through the Mountain Camp and the Fighting Camp and arrived at the Kui Camp's tent, the sky was covered with dark clouds and rain was pouring down.

Raindrops pattered against the tent, making a series of crackling sounds.

He, the leader of the Kui Battalion, had already knelt down first. Zhang Renfeng and Xu, the leaders, exchanged a glance and then knelt down in the empty space reserved next to him.

Although it was a military tent, the furnishings of the Kui-character Battalion were exceptionally luxurious. Before the three men was a blue-and-white porcelain incense burner with three peonies painted on it, depicted as if they were blooming in the wind. It was exquisite and beautiful, yet it did not seem like something one would expect to find in a military setting.

Wisps of smoke rose from the furnace, filling the military tent and blurring the three figures sitting in chairs before them.

Through the smoke, their height, weight, and build were no longer clearly visible. Zhang Renfeng felt that these three so-called "adults" had become three abstract symbols.

"cough."

The adult sitting on the far left took out a handkerchief from his sleeve and coughed lightly.

"He Wushang, commander of the Kui Battalion, pays his respects to the three lords!" Commander He immediately understood his meaning and responded with utmost loyalty, shouting loudly.

"Xu Doutai, commander of the Douzi Battalion, pays his respects to the three lords!" Commander Xu's demeanor was relatively calm, not too obsequious, but enough to handle the situation properly. He was neither humble nor arrogant, leaving no room for criticism.

“Zhang Renfeng, commander of the Mountain Battalion, pays his respects to the three lords.”

When Zhang Renfeng mentioned "leading the army," he paused for a moment, seemingly not yet accepting his new identity.

He kept his head held high, his gaze sharp as a sword, piercing through the fog that blocked their path.

Chapter 551: No Drama in the Army!

"Very good, very good. All matters in the army depend on the soldiers' service and on the commanders' management. No one can be missing. With such good generals by our side, it seems that the day will come when we quell the bandits and recover Nanjing."

The official who had coughed first stroked his goatee, exchanged a few polite words, then leaned forward with utmost respect and asked the man seated in the middle, "Lord Ma, what do you think..."

"In this battle, the Dou Battalion will lead the attack on the city, with the Kui Battalion assisting. After capturing Yu City, they will take over its defense. As for the Shan Battalion, they will remain the same as before, responsible for flanking support. That's all."

"Lord Ying, Lord An, what do you think?"

Generally speaking, when a leader asks this question, they don't really expect an answer; rather, they mean, "This matter is settled."

The first to cough was Ying Gong, who was sitting to the left of Lord Ma. He stroked his beard and said with a smile, "As expected of the Governor of Liangjiang, Lord Ma's arrangements are far-sighted and adapted to local conditions. I admire him greatly."

"..." Lord An, who had been sitting on the right and had not said a word, frowned and glanced at him quickly. "I have no objection, but my two battalions are probably not as wealthy and powerful as Lord Ying's Kui Battalion."

"Xu Doutai, Zhang Renfeng, while the governor is here today, if the camp is short of men, horses, or weapons, bring it up now. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Well, old An," Lord Ma said half-jokingly, "I just passed by, and I haven't even had a chance to sit down properly, and you're already trying to rip me off. Why don't you go and rip off Lord Ying instead?"

"Everyone knows that Lord Ying is a notorious miser, not one to give a penny." Lord An also joked, "As colleagues, if we expect him to treat us to a meal, we'll probably have to wait until our next life."

"Nonsense!" Ying Gong retorted seriously. "Lord An, who gave you permission to set the date?"

“I think we should forget about the next life and just do it tonight.” Lord Ma patted his knees, which were pressed under his heavy official robes. “Tonight, I’ll have the cooks bring some meat so we can have hot pot. Don’t forget these three officers; let them join us. We three old men are useless in this battle; we need to rely on the young men.”

"I am honored to receive such praise from Governor!" Commander He reacted quickly, his face beaming with joy, and he immediately bowed deeply.

"Lord Ying, this time you can't escape, hahahaha—!"

……

In an instant, laughter erupted in the military tent. Lord Ma laughed first, and Lord An merely echoed his laughter. But Lord Ying laughed first, then turned his head to quickly observe Lord Ma's reaction, and then his laughter grew louder, followed by slapping his thighs, launching into a truly three-part burst of laughter.

Smoke curled up from the stove, and everything inside the tent seemed like a distorted, unreal dream.

They were all happy and harmonious.

It was so harmonious...it didn't feel like a military formation.

The heavy rain pounded on the tents, on the ground, and on the distant city walls of Yu City, dripping and pattering.

"Three adults!"

……

Finally, a discordant note appeared in the unspoken performance.

“Oh, I remember you are…” Lord Ma’s smile became somewhat stiff. He looked at the young man who had interrupted him and said in a deep voice, “The martial arts champion of the first year of the Guangxu reign, right? I didn’t expect you to be so young.”

"Young hero, you have a bright future ahead of you. What is it that you need to say?"

“Your Excellency, the Mountain Battalion is already well-trained and capable of attacking the city together with the Fighting Battalion. Why do you always make us stand by and watch? With the two battalions attacking from both sides of Yu City, they will have to expend twice the effort to defend. The city will fall in no time, and the people in the city will suffer less from the ravages of war.”

Upon hearing this, the atmosphere inside the tent changed abruptly.

"Insolence! There is no room for jest in the army!"

Before anyone could speak from their seat, He Wushang was the first to retort, angrily saying, "With the three lords here, how dare a mere commander like you interfere in matters of military importance?"

"I never would have guessed that a top scholar like yourself would care so much about the common people." Ying Gong stroked his beard and sneered, "I've long heard that you're an arrogant person, and it seems I'm right. Are you trying to say that the governor overseeing the two rivers region is less experienced and knowledgeable than you?"

"Alright, Lord Ying, we're all serving the country, there's no need for that."

Instead, the governor of Liangjiang, sitting in the very center, had his eyebrows almost squinted into a line, and smiled warmly. He waved his hand and said magnanimously, "Scholar, let me ask you. How many bandits are there in Yu City? What weapons do they have? How many days' worth of food do they have? Are there any secret doors within the city that can be used to break in?"

"..."

The cunning part is that Zhang Renfeng, being in the midst of the army, could not possibly answer such a specific question; he could only remain silent.

"War is dangerous and perilous. Once a mistake is made, it cannot be corrected. If all our forces are committed to besieging a city and we fail to capture it after a long siege, morale will be greatly damaged, and it will be very difficult to recover then."

He waved his hand dismissively, effectively ending the discussion, "If there are no objections, then proceed as planned."

"Go back to your tents, take off your armor, and I'll have the cook heat up the pot... See you here again in half an hour, and we'll have a good hot pot meal!"

----

The rain grew heavier and heavier, falling into the tents and making everyone increasingly irritable.

Zhang Renfeng stared at the city towering like a ghost in the distance, gritted his teeth, and roared, "Gather the troops!"

……

He himself was a warrior, and the troops he led were naturally filled with a fierce and courageous spirit. In no time, the eight hundred soldiers in the camp had lined up in the rain. Holding spears and wearing armor, they exuded a murderous aura, and the raindrops pattered against their armor.

"First to advance, step forward!"

The 800-strong Mountain Battalion was essentially parachuted in with a new leader. Although he was said to be the top martial arts champion of the first year of the Guangxu Emperor's reign, no one would accept such a thing.

So, on their first day in the military tent, Zhang Renfeng gave them a chance—all soldiers of the Mountain Battalion, regardless of rank or background, could challenge him.

A real man doesn't beat around the bush; he lets his fists do the talking. That's definitely the most direct approach.

Of course, to a large extent, he had indeed been itching for a fight for a long time. Since becoming the martial arts champion, he hadn't sparred with anyone for a long time, and the Mountain Camp here had temporarily become his second arena.

After one round, everyone was impressed.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Zhang Renfeng secretly noted down the top eighty people and selected them to form a vanguard team.

His thinking was also very clear—the army is a melting pot; there are elite soldiers and there are also slackers, and the two cannot be assigned to the same unit. Otherwise, the latter would quickly mold the former into slackers.

The best soldiers must be organized into separate teams, creating an environment where "if you kill one, I have to kill two," so that they can work together effectively and sharpen their blade.

The eighty pioneers stepped forward in response, heads held high, quite proud.

If we compare the Mountain Battalion to a company, these eighty men are like the selected role models, meant to set an example. In the army, they have priority in choosing their food, weapons, armor, and bedding, and they all have a special interest in it.

"The bandits occupied Yu City and could not take it after a long siege, causing great suffering to the people."

"Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle. I plan to go into the city to find out their strength, how many people they have, how many weapons they have, how much food they have, and whether they still have secret passages... The more intelligence I have, the more confident I will be in the battle."

Zhang Renfeng raised his hand and shouted, "Ten fearless men, come with me!"

……

"I am willing to go with the leader!"

"I am also willing to go with the leader!"

"I!"

"I, I, I..."

……

In the heavy rain, hands were raised.

Chapter 552: There must be wind, there must be rain, there must be hot pot, there must be fog!

"Not coming?" Governor Ma wasn't too surprised. He simply picked up a slice of meat with his chopsticks, put it into the pot, and cooked it methodically, as if he had expected it. "Did he make it clear that he wouldn't come?"

"Not exactly," Xu Doutai tried to cover for Zhang Renfeng. "When I went to the Shanzi Camp to call him, his men told me that he was feeling unwell..."

"Ha, how ungrateful!" He Wushuang sneered. "Even with the governor here, he can't be invited. This guy has quite the nerve."

"What do you know? He was the first martial arts champion of the Guangxu era. His vision is far beyond what ordinary people like us can compare to." Ying Gong threw a few green vegetables into the hot pot, seemingly to defend Zhang Renfeng, but actually to change the angle and said sarcastically, "I heard that when this martial arts champion was being selected, he didn't even give face to the old officials in the court."

"When the assessment came to the end, the imperial court sent Old Master Zheng to spar with him. Old Master Zheng was a man with outstanding military achievements and a reputation for being a formidable fighter in Guangdong and Guangxi. But this guy was different. He came up and punched the old man twice, knocking him down. He was left with two bruises around his eyes and looked like a beast that could eat iron."

"Ha! Hahahaha..."

The dinner table is the perfect opportunity to gossip, and people often pick on whoever is absent. Zhang Renfeng, being absent, naturally became their topic of conversation.

Governor Ma chuckled twice, "Lord An, you have trained some excellent soldiers."

"Please don't belittle me, Lord Ying," Lord An sighed, lamenting, "You can't make something out of nothing."

"It's alright, if he doesn't come, he doesn't come. There are still five of us, and we can still have hot pot." Governor Ma set the tone, looked at Xu Doutai, and said with a smile, "Please sit down, Commander Xu."

Xu Doutai sat down.

The next instant, Governor Ma picked up his cup, and everyone stood up as if by reflex, including him.

"I am but a humble man, with only this much ability. I dare not say much, but I can certainly ensure that you all eat and drink well. I will drink this cup first as a sign of respect, and you may make yourselves at your own pace."

As he spoke, he finished the wine in his glass, and everyone, to show their loyalty, immediately followed suit, drinking not a drop left.

"Alright, Commander Xu, don't be so reserved. If you want to eat something, just pick it up and cook it yourself. The most important thing is to eat your fill."

Eating with the boss, even a full meal was a luxury. Xu Doutai nodded and smiled obsequiously, but dared not be too presumptuous. He absolutely dared not touch the meat. After scanning the pot for a while, he picked up a piece of cabbage and was about to put it into the hot pot.

"Hey, what are you doing? Don't you know the rules?" He Wushuang's sarcastic remark landed in his face, leaving him at a loss for words.

"That's enough." Governor Ma clapped his hands.

The servant stepped forward with small, quick steps, picked up the cabbage, and peeled off the leaves one by one. The perfectly good leaves were immediately thrown to the ground as trash. Finally, only a small cabbage heart remained, which the servant tossed into the hot pot.

Xu Doutai stared in disbelief at the cabbage hearts bobbing in the pot.

"As for cabbage, I'm used to not eating the leaves; those are for pigs. Only this cabbage heart is truly tender and delicious, incredibly refreshing, and leaves a lingering aftertaste." Governor Ma casually swept a piece with his chopsticks. "Commander Xu, quickly try this cabbage heart; does it suit your taste?"

"Hmm." Xu Doutai quickly recovered from his shock, and even ignoring the fact that his tongue was burning, he picked up the cabbage heart and swallowed it whole.

"Truly incredibly delicious, a rare find indeed!"

"Hahahaha—!"

The three adults laughed together.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent! What a rare find!" Governor Ma raised a cup of wine and laughed heartily, "On such a fine day, how could there be no poetry?"

"There must be wind, there must be rain. There must be hot pot, there must be fog. There must be beautiful women, there must be donkeys!"

……

The steam from the hot pot rose, drifting out of the warm military tent and disappearing into the rainy night.

----

"boom----!!"

A thunderous sound.

The city was briefly illuminated.

"My God..." Zhang Renfeng gasped as he looked at the scene before him.

Starving people were everywhere.

These people were so hungry that they were unrecognizable. They lay motionless on the cold ground, drenched by the rain.

The vast majority of them had already died and were left unattended on the street, rotting and decaying.

"Old man, are you still alive?"

After much difficulty, they found a living person among the pile of starving corpses. Zhang Renfeng carried him to the eaves, where at least the rain wouldn't get him wet. But his eyes were beyond numb; he was on the verge of death, only a flicker of life in his pupils could reveal that he was alive.