PROOFREAD BY AFREANA

Chapter 44.2

“It’s not easy to say this. But it is always necessary to do well in defense. We can’t wait for the enemy to come and attack before we rush around.” Zong Zeqing spoke loudly and with great spirit. “You don’t have to worry. In our Long family army one is like a hundred. If we fight, we won’t let those Southern Qin soldiers have a good time! We will let them cry out to their mothers! But Zhonglan City is far away, so you won’t have a chance to hear it.”

“General Zong is brave and capable. I believe that General Zong will keep our Pingnan County safe.”

Zong Zeqing laughed and said, “That’s right, that’s right.” He looked up at the moon, “It’s a nice moon tonight. Wait for a minute.”

Before An Ruochen managed to reply, Zong Zeqing ran away in a flash. Not a moment later, he carried a jar of wine, two bowls, and a bulging oil paper bag. Smiling, he sat next to An Ruochen, and spread the things, a jar of wine and two roast chickens.

“Come on, let’s eat. I will get more later if it is not enough.”

An Ruochen stared dumbly at the food. No way, he really thought she was hungry, so he stole food? Two big roast chickens, still not enough to eat?

Zong Zeqing saw her expression and laughed: “I’m not saying you’re gluttonous. Human, ah. When you’re hungry, you have to eat. When you’re sad, you also have to eat. When you encounter troubles, you also have to eat.”

In short, eating is always the right choice. An Ruochen was infected by him and smiled. General Zong is a good person. He can see that she is upset and is concerned about her.

An Ruochen decided not to be reserved. When Zong Zeqing tore a chicken leg for her, she munched it. When he handed her a bowl of wine, she gulped it. On the grassy slope by the training grounds, they raised their bowls of wine and ate meat in big bites.

After An Ruochen drank two bowls of wine, her face became pink, and she felt like she was floating. It made her feel comfortable. “I’ve never tried to eat like this before.”

“Eating without modesty tastes better, right?” Zong Zeqing’s eyes were bright and persuasive.

An Ruochen laughed loudly and nodded her head.

“Is your mood better?”

An Ruochen nodded again.

“Did you encounter anything that bothered you?”

“It’s hard to say all at once.” An Ruochen shook her head, “The case I am working on is not going well. I thought I made a major breakthrough, but suddenly it is gone.” An Ruochen roughly told the story, mainly about her hesitation and regret about whether or not to catch someone.

“It’s fine.” Zong Zeqing also shook his head. “I once followed General Long on a battle. In that battle, both armies sent strong generals and elite soldiers. Our army was also well-prepared, we set up an array of arrows and stones, shields to defend against the spears ……” He looked at An Ruochen’s expression, waved a chicken wing, and said. “You just need to know that it was a powerful formation.”

An Ruochen nodded vigorously. Zong Zeqing lifted the chicken wing and nibbled on it. An Ruochen followed suit and munched on the chicken leg.

Zong Zeqing saw An Ruochen act like a good brother supporting the scene and was thrilled. He sipped the wine and said: “There was a famous general in the opponent’s army. He had fought against General Long 300 times. I led the soldiers to protect General Long’s left flank and was responsible for charging and killing to block their formation. Later, after General Long injured the enemy’s general with his sword, the enemy’s general made his retreat as he noticed that the situation had turned for the worse. How can this be? Many soldiers watched him retreat while his two lieutenants rushed to kill General Long. When I saw it, I rushed to cut that thief guy.”

“The thief guy is the famous enemy’s general that you said was wounded, right?” An Ruochen listened with great interest but first wanted to confirm who was who.

“Right.” Zong Zeqing said with flying eyebrows, “I have to tell you, ah. The battle is not like a street fight. Tens of thousands of people mix together, and if the soldiers are in disarray, wow, that is a tragic sight. A sea of people, full of blood, bodies and heads, arms and whatnot, it is impossible to see anyone even if they are standing.”

An Ruochen almost vomited and wanted to throw away the chicken leg but held back and asked, “What can you do if you can’t see?”

“There is a flag signal! And drums!” When Zong Zeqing found a curious and chatty person, added with the atmosphere “under the moon and flowers,” with chicken and wine, he talked enthusiastically. “There is a great deal of detail here: what kind of drums, how many times they should be struck, what kind of front formation is in place, what kind of back formation is in place, different flags, different colors, how many times and where to swing them, all of these details have meaning. On the battlefield, we all look at the flag and listen to the sounds of drums and horns. These flags and drum soldiers are not someone randomly picked out for them to be able to perform well. Their body has to be strong, tall, and eye-catching. For short-legged people like you, the soldiers would not notice if you are raising the flag, ah.”

An Ruochen face filled with embarrassment. Who said she wanted to raise the flag?

“More than just being tall, you must also have good hearing and eyesight, be highly skilled in martial arts. You know, when the flag is up, the army is alive. If the flag is down, then the army is dead. The military flag means the army’s soul. Everyone is looking at the direction it points to fight for their lives. Even if the last soldier falls, the flag cannot fall.” Zong Zeqing became solemn and seemed to think of some past events, then he reacted and shouted, “Ai ai, I’ve gone too far here. I wanted to say, ah. When General Long was entangled, he ordered me to take down the enemy’s leader.”

“The one who was injured.”

“Right.” Zong Zeqing said: “At that time, I fought with that guy. The result was that guy escaped with his army. I rushed to chase them with my soldiers, and the result was f*cking ambush!”

An Ruochen was so nervous that she held her breath.

“At that time, when I saw a flash of a flag in the forest, I knew it was bad. The enemy’s general led his troops into the forest, and suddenly the ambushers came up from the slope next to us and encircled us from front to back. It was only then that I realized I was so eager to win that I chased him too far and lost a lot of brothers. I had a moment of hesitation. It would not be too late if I lead my soldiers to retreat. But the enemy’s general was injured, and the ambushers were not elite soldiers. In short, whether to retreat or attack, without fail, I felt that there is still a chance.”

An Ruochen swallowed her saliva, nervously waiting for the following. As a result, Zong Zeqing stopped talking, threw the wing bones, and tore a large piece of chicken breast to chew up.

An Ruochen couldn’t resist and asked, “What happened then?”

Zong Zeqing smiled. He was waiting for her to ask. It was the effect of storytelling. He was about to speak, but a cold voice behind him said, “Then General Zong won the fight, and the story is over.”

Zong Zeqing and An Ruochen both had their faces collapsed at once. When they turned their heads to look, Big Long was standing there with a stern face.

Zong Zeqing reacted more strongly than An Ruochen. He jumped up and protested: “General, how can you spoil the atmosphere?”

“What atmosphere?”

Zong Zeqing choked and said, “The atmosphere of storytelling.”

“What’s the use of it?”

Zong Zeqing choked again and said, “To tell a story.”

Then Big Long helped him continue: “General Zong decided to take the chance one against ten and to never retreat until he took the other side’s head. He used the soldiers on hand to break up the enemy’s encirclement. While his remaining soldiers faked retreat to attract the enemy to chase them, General Zong lured the enemy’s general into the forest and killed the flag-order soldier first. He then made a false flag order to deviate the enemy’s general from the direction of his large group of soldiers. Then he rejoined forces with the other remaining soldiers who had previously faked their retreat and fought with the enemy’s general. The two armies disappeared for three days, and on the third day, General Zong’s army returned with two soldiers carrying the head of the enemy general.”