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Li Jue was certain that as long as this matter was handled well, food would truly not be an issue, extinguishing all the ill will he had previously harbored towards Fan Chou, Zhang Ji, Guo Si, and others.
That very night, Li Jue invited Guo Si over, arranging a feast. At the banquet, he laid bare all the less-than-honorable things he had done before, then punished himself with a jar of wine before finally revealing all of Zhong Yao’s plans.
After all, they were brothers who had once shared a meal from the same pot. Although Li Jue had gone too far, speaking openly revealed it all stemmed from a problem with food. Now, Li Jue took all of the Xiliang Army’s problems onto his own shoulders, which made Guo Si feel even more apologetic. Not to mention Li Jue having his own plans—didn’t Guo Si, Zhang Ji, and Fan Chou all have their own?
"Aduo, I’ve wronged our brothers," Li Jue slurred, his tongue heavy from drinking, but now he was carefree, and his inner thoughts had tumbled out.
"Zhiran, brother also knows about your difficulties. We’ve all made mistakes, drink up!" Guo Si, giddy, spread his mouth wide and said, "But we are all brothers who have rebelled together, what’s there to fear! If the sky falls, Laozi still has brothers. Down this bowl and let bygones be bygones!"
"Cheers!" Li Jue, grinning foolishly, clinked his bowl with Guo Si’s and then rolled under the table—his wine didn’t even make it to his mouth.
"Hahaha, Zhiran, you’re drunk, you’re drunk..." Guo Si laughed uproariously, spilling alcohol all over himself.
On the other hand, a dazed Li Jue, hearing Guo Si’s words, mumbled, "I’m not drunk," as he struggled to climb back onto the table.
The next day, Sima Lang, who was supposed to have left after meeting Li Jue, only got to see Li Jue and Guo Si emerge arm in arm in the main hall at the Si Hour.
"So this is the esteemed nephew Sima, you look pretty good!" Guo Si, with his arm around Li Jue’s neck, said with a chuckle.
"Sima Boda pays his respects to General Guo," Sima Lang bowed deeply on the spot.
"Zhiran, I too will lead troops this time. Whether the Xiliang Army will feast or starve in the future depends on this occasion. We can’t let Ma Teng and Hann Sui, those two young pups, make a mess of things. If they have any objections, brother, I’ll take off their heads!" Guo Si released Li Jue’s neck and looked at him, stating his intention. He might not have had a long-term vision, but when it came to leading troops on the battlefield, he was second to none.
Before yesterday, Guo Si would not have dared to leave Chang’an, afraid he would never be able to return once he left. But now, after his old brother had openly explained everything, he didn’t have to count on Zhang Ji and Fan Chou, who were still in the dark. As for Guo Si, he now absolutely trusted Li Jue—this was a brother who had taken a knife for him!
"Alright, it would be good for you to clarify everything to Old Zhang and Old Fan on this trip, too. If any mistakes occur, just push them onto my head. Let’s not create any barriers like before. As for Ma Shoucheng and Hann Wenyue, if they don’t obey, just kill Hann Wenyue—that’ll do. Keep Ma Shoucheng," Li Jue thought aloud. Fortunately, he had some foresight, knowing that if Ma Teng were to be killed, the Qiang People in the Fufeng area would likely harbor resentment. Although it wasn’t a big deal, it wasn’t necessary!
"Fine, I’ll listen to you. Laozi will take twelve thousand Iron Cavalry and give them a proper beating. As for Old Zhang and Old Fan, actually, there’s nothing to it. Our brothers didn’t know before and understood your difficulties, but now that we know, we can understand. So, keep your heart in your stomach. No matter what, the four of us are brothers who have eaten with the same ladle and shielded each other on the battlefield before," Guo Si slapped Li Jue’s shoulder and laughed heartily.
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Perhaps worried that Li Jue still harbored grudges, he yanked off his outer robe and tossed it onto Sima Lang, pointing to the wounds on his chest, "Look at this knife wound, look at this arrow wound, and this spear wound. I took a lot of hits for you three. When the two of them accuse you of being unscrupulous, just strip down and show them these scars. They will let go of their grudges when they see it, it’s no big deal!"
Li Jue, looking at the joyfully foolish Guo Si, then at his own body covered in scars, couldn’t help but think of the hardships of rising from a mere foot soldier from Xiliang to his current status, "Hahaha, you’re right, what’s so great about it? I’ve done the same!"
Saying this, Li Jue threw his clothes off, flinging them onto Sima Lang’s head, which immediately filled Sima Lang with frustration. When had he, a top sage, ever been treated as a clothing rack?
Li Jue, pointing to the wounds on his body, said, "Damn it, I also took quite a few hits for you. Take the food and hurry to help Old Fan and Zhang Family out of trouble. Oh right, I’ve also taken care of Boyuan’s reward and title for you, take a look." Then, he pulled the Imperial Edict from Sima Lang’s embrace and handed it to Guo Si.
"You scum, thinking I can’t read, huh!" Guo Si tossed it back to Li Jue without even looking at it, and then put his outer robe back on.
"Forgot about that, but when the time comes just hand it to Zhang Family, you’ll know the situation when you see it." Li Jue laughed and said, and then stuffed the Imperial Edict back to Guo Si, who was indifferent about keeping it in his embrace. To the two of them, Imperial Edicts were not so important; if lost, they could always ask for another... 𝖓𝔬𝔳𝔭𝔲𝔟.𝖈𝖔𝔪
On the way there, Sima Lang hardly had the chance to showcase his talents before Guo Si already led his men into Changping Temple, while Fan Chou and Zhang Ji were quite puzzled by Guo Si’s arrival.
"Zhang Boyuan, you’ve been titled!" Guo Si, seeing Zhang Ji and Fan Chou coming out to greet him, let out a chuckle, pulled out the Imperial Edict, and flipped it open upside down without noticing. He happily prepared to read it aloud, but when Zhang Xiu was waiting to be summoned, Guo Si laughed and tossed the Imperial Edict to him, "Boyuan, you know your uncle here can’t read. This thing was arranged by Zhiran, so just take a look yourself. I’ll add the seal ribbon later."
After quickly scanning the Imperial Edict, Zhang Xiu felt an immense joy inside. Marquis of Xuanwei, General of Breaking Qiang, even Zhang Ji, standing by and seeing the Imperial Edict, showed a slight change of expression. He didn’t expect Li Jue would grant such a high title and reward, which was simply unbelievable for the already discontented group.
"Alright, stop looking, Old Zhang, Old Fan, I have something to tell you." Guo Si jumped off his horse and said with a smile.
"Let’s go, let’s go, to the tent!" Fan Chou and Zhang Ji exchanged looks, both slightly worried.
Once Guo Si entered the tent, he casually threw his armor and outer robe onto the ground, pointing at a wound, and asked Zhang Ji, "Old Zhang, do you know how I got this wound, brother?"
"The battle at Jincheng, blocking a spear for me from the Qiang People," replied Zhang Ji, his heart stirring as he remembered the situation.
"And this wound, Old Fan?" Guo Si asked, pointing to a small hole-like wound close to his heart.
"In the battle at the North, you blocked an arrow from a Divine Marksman of the Qiang People for me. You nearly died at that time," Fan Chou said with emotion. Back then, all the brothers had come from the battlefield, and many of their wounds were from blocking blows for others. "If Boyuan and Zhiran hadn’t desperately killed the King of Qiang, we’d all have died." What followed was a melancholic laughter; those days were gone, and everything had changed~(To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote and support it at qidian.com. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to continue reading. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
