Love Affairs in Chang'an - Chapter 221

Chapter 221 Isolation Meter
In the Xiang Prefecture’s military mansion, there had never been such peace before. Those who didn’t know the situation thought that the entire military mansion had pulled out of the camp, and a large camp called the Sparrow was silent.

This was because everyone was hiding in the barracks, bitterly reciting military orders and military rules.

The tent of the Central Army was filled with laughter.

“General, I’m going to die today!” A Hundred Cavalry Guard said, “Feng Knife Scar’s head was personally cut off by a lowly person. However, seeing a flash of red light from the white knife, a dog head fell to the ground like this. I regret it again. How can I knock this thief unconscious and then cut off his head? It’s too cheap for him. At least, I should have done it in a way that frightens half of his life away before cutting off his dog head!”

Everyone laughed out loud.

Another person said, “I’m really proud of myself today!”

“Let’s not talk about lifting our eyebrows and exhaling. It should be a mouthful of anger.” Another person added, “We Baiji don’t need to show off in front of a few local soldiers. It’s just that this group of Yelang people who are watching the sky from a well look down on us!”

“Yes, yes!”

The bodyguards talked in all directions, and the discussion was lively.

They were quite excited about the prestige of the school grounds today.

Qin Mubai sat on a handsome chair and slowly sipped a cup of tea. He looked at the cheers of his brothers and smiled without saying a word.

Pang Fei stood beside him and laughed for a while before saying, “Master, now we have changed seats with Du Chengyuan.”

“What do you mean?” Qin Mubai asked.

“Previously, it was the enemies who were waiting for us to attack, Du Chengyuan and the others. They reacted passively.” Pang Fei said, “Now that we know the enemy’s secrets, I don’t know how they will plan to retaliate against us. With Du Chengyuan’s personality, he will never let such a thing go.”

“That’s right. As expected, you are becoming more and more stable and mature.” Qin Mubai nodded in approval and smiled, “So now is not the time to be happy, because our competition has only just begun.” A mere Feng Scar’s head was not enough to completely suppress Du Chengyuan’s group. The Hundred-Footed Bug died without stiffness, it was not so easy for him to submit. Just imagine, he had been running rampant in the military manor for a few years, so how could he be willing to become an echo worm overnight? “You’re right. This is definitely not Du Chengyuan’s personality. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have expelled several successive commandants.”

“Then what should we do next?” Pang Fei asked. After saying that, he greeted the Baiji again. Everyone quieted down and quietly listened to Qin Mubai’s lecture.

Qin Mubai stood up and said, “Always, strong dragons do not suppress earth snakes.” The reason for this was because the Earth Serpent had a deep foundation in the mainland. First, they had extensive connections, and second, they had operated for many years. The cunning rabbit three caves were very deep, so it was difficult for outsiders to figure out each other’s paths for a while. However, we are not ordinary strong dragons. We have overwhelming strength, so we killed them off guard with a gale-driven grass. Feng Knife Scar’s death could be regarded as a sign of dismounting, but it was also a signal to declare war. Next, Du Chengyuan will definitely be angry and embarrassed to fight against us regardless of everything. Therefore, brothers … the real contest has only just begun. “Everyone, be energetic. Don’t slack off or be complacent!”

“I will obey the general’s instructions!” Everyone agreed.

Qin Mubai nodded and said, “As Pang Fei said, it’s the enemy who knows.” We don’t know when or where Du Chengyuan and the others will make another vicious move. Therefore, apart from raising our guard, we must also keep a close watch on each other’s movements. One of the most direct and fastest ways for a strong dragon to suppress an Earth Snake was to obtain one or two useful core figures from the enemy’s camp.

Everyone’s eyes immediately lit up, and they all nodded in agreement, “General Gao Lun!”

“However, this is easier said than done!” Pang Fei said, “Apart from us, most of the generals in the Xiang Prefecture Military Manor are locals of Xiang Prefecture. They know each other well, and they have thousands of connections with each other. It’s not impossible to split each other up, but this person is too difficult to choose.”

“General, there’s something I want to report. It might be useful to you.” A Baiji cupped his hands and said.

“Speak.”

“Yes.” The hundred cavalry answered and said, “After we captured Feng Dao Scar from the left camp last night, Du Cheng Yuan slapped Zhao Chong in the face of more than a hundred navy soldiers. He even scolded him for taking refuge with the general. He helped the general betray and deal with Feng Dao Scar.”

“Huh? There’s such a thing?” Qin Mubai’s eyebrows furrowed and his eyes lit up. “Can you tell me more about it? Is the source reliable?”

“Absolutely reliable. More than a hundred people present witnessed it with their own eyes. When I woke up early this morning and went to the fire room to get breakfast for the general and his brothers, I accidentally heard the fire men talking about it.” The soldier from Baiji said, “I tried to talk about it. The firemen in the fire room told me everything.”

After saying that, the soldier told everyone what had happened in detail.

Qin Mubai pondered for a moment before nodding, “That’s right, this information is useful.” Originally, Du Chengyuan had some doubts about Zhao Chong. Now that Feng Daoshi had been beheaded, he couldn’t help but be enraged by Zhao Chong. Zhao Chong’s life definitely wouldn’t be easy. When I talked to Zhao Chong in the inn to trick him, his mouth was extremely tight, but I knew that he was definitely an insider. This person was very necessary to fight for, and also had the possibility to succeed. But … we need to put on a show. The last fake, the real fake–the alienation! ”

“Separation scheme?” Everyone exclaimed in surprise, “What kind of separation method is this?”

Qin Mubai asked everyone to gather their heads together and give them a secret message, “It’s quite simple. Brothers, come over and listen to me carefully. This matter is top secret. Don’t leak it …”

Everyone laughed and nodded in praise, “What a brilliant plan!”

At lunchtime.

The soldiers of the whole battalion ate like they were going to a market, and they shrunk into the barracks to scratch their meals while madly reading the military orders and rules. Many people were illiterate, so they could only ask their fellow countrymen to read to them. As a result, the entire barracks was filled with noisy sounds of reading in different tones, making people think that they had entered the academy by mistake.

Zhao Chong held a small military order in his hand and sat down at the dining table in the fire room. He slapped the table angrily, “Fire! Get me two dishes and warm two jugs of wine!”

As a captain, he still had the right to eat a small stove. However, Zhao Chong was obviously in a bad mood today, so he wanted to borrow some wine to drown his worries. One of the Flame Legion Corps saw that the situation was wrong and hastily brought him a plate of fried dried fish, a serving of pickled vegetables, and two jugs of wine soaked in a hot water jar.

“General, enjoy yourself!”

“Scram!” Zhao Chong angrily waved his hand and poured the wine jug into his mouth. Hualala, directly poured more than half, half into the mouth half drenched on the chest, wet a piece.

“Son of a bitch! What is it!!!” Zhao Chong slammed the wine jug heavily on the table and cursed loudly with a wipe of his mouth.

“Oh, Commandant Zhao is so angry. Who are you scolding?” Suddenly, a voice came from the side, which shocked Zhao Chong. He turned around and saw that it was actually Pang Fei. He was so frightened that he sat up and hurriedly cupped his hands in salute, “General Pang, forgive me, but at the end, I didn’t scold anyone. I was just feeling depressed and chatting to vent my anger!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. Sit down.” Pang Fei smiled and nodded at him. It turned out that he was also carrying two plates of pickled vegetables in his hands, so he dared to come to eat a small stove.

“Aiya, the food of the Xiang Province Army Manor is not good!” Pang Fei shook his head as he sighed and sat down beside Zhao Chong. He scolded, “It’s fine if there’s no lamb or good wine. I thought there would be good fish in the harbor. I didn’t expect the fish in the manor to be fresh. It’s all fried dried fish and chewed like tree roots. There’s no good food to drink. It’s really boring!”

Zhao Chong chuckled and said, “General Pang, you’re really laughing. After all, it’s a local military manor. How can it compare to the Imperial Imperial Rate? The food is definitely a lot worse. In fact, it’s already good to have fried fish jerky. In the face of tight military expenses, you have to eat steamed buns and porridge for several months in a row. If you want to have a tooth sacrifice, you have to go to the city.”

“Come on, cheers.” Pang Fei impolitely picked up another jug of wine from Zhao Chong and clashed with him. He smiled and said, “It’s fine to drink some at noon. General Qin must have taken a nap. He won’t be able to catch us. Drink!”

“Alright, General Pang is so gracious. I will definitely accompany you at the end of the day.” Zhao Chong held the wine jug and drank with him.

“Hey, this wine … is so fucking sour! It’s not wine, it’s obviously vinegar!” Pang Fei took a sip and kept spitting.

“Haha, General Pang, please make do!” Zhao Chong laughed loudly.

“I’ve been in the barracks for a few days, and the beetles in my stomach are shouting at me.” Pang Fei rubbed his stomach with a bitter face and snorted, “Zhao Chong, tell me, which good restaurant in Xiangyang City has good food, take me to eat it?”

“This” Zhao Chong’s expression turned ugly for a moment.

“What’s wrong? Are you still afraid that I will let you spend money?” Pang Fei smiled and said, “Don’t worry, it’s my treat. You’re only responsible for guiding the way!”

“No, no” Zhao Chong hurriedly waved his hand and said hesitantly, “Only General Qin issued a strict order. No one is allowed to leave the camp without permission! Also, I have to take the military examinations in three days. I haven’t memorized it yet. If I don’t go, I can’t go!”

“Oh, so …” Pang Fei rolled his eyes and chuckled, “With me here, what are you panicking about?” I’m in charge of the military order random exam. General Qin is in charge of everything, so how can he personally supervise it? If you want to pass, isn’t that something I said? Besides … I’m at least a lieutenant. There’s no problem with taking a vacation, haha! “Then it’s settled. Tomorrow, follow me out of the camp and have a good day!”

After saying that, Pang Fei stood up and left, casually taking away a pot of wine from Zhao Chong. He laughed and said, “Even though it’s sour wine, it’s better than nothing!”

“Wait, wait! General Pang–” Zhao Chong called out with a bitter face, but Pang Fei left.

“What does this mean?!” Looking at Pang Fei’s background, Zhao Chong knitted his brows tightly, his expression becoming somewhat grim.

After Pang Fei returned to his tent, he told Qin Mubai what had happened just now.

After hearing Wan Er’s smile, Qin Mubai said, “Well done. Looks like you have a bit of talent for singing big shows on stage. That’s why you have to approach him casually and accidentally. But don’t be too close to him. Our goal is to let Du Chengyuan know about these small scenes and mistakenly think that Zhao Chong is already one of us.”

“Alright, alright.” Pang Fei nodded and said with a smile, “Master, your plan is truly excellent. Du Chengyuan is originally a smart, domineering, and suspicious person. At that time, no matter how Zhao Chong explains it, he probably won’t be able to trust Zhao Chong anymore.”

“That’s right! If Du Chengyuan wasn’t a smart person who liked to think things over, he wouldn’t have fallen for such a trap.” Qin Mubai nodded and smiled. He picked up the wine Pang Fei had brought over and tasted it. He immediately scolded, “Holy shit, this is also considered wine? Did you intentionally fill a bottle of vinegar?”

“Uh … I just took a sip and spat …” Pang Fei chuckled.

“Then you still got it?” Qin Mubai glared.

“Isn’t it just to make Zhao Chong think that I’ll be fine with this one bite …”

In the evening, Qin Mubai ordered someone to arrange a banquet for the Zhongjun Army, which could be considered as an official meeting with the generals of the Junfu to get to know each other.

Before releasing the news, Qin Mubai deliberately sent someone to call Zhao Chong over and talked about military affairs in the barracks for a long time. Speaking of which, it was nothing more than an old topic of conversation about water ghosts, warships, and the navy. Even though Zhao Chong was getting impatient with the conversation, Qin Mubai was like a mumbling mother, refusing to let Zhao Chong go even if she refused to end the conversation.

It wasn’t until the sky was getting dark that Qin Mubai said, “Alright, let’s call it a day. Zhao Chong, today is our banquet. Let’s go out to eat and drink together!”

“At the end of the day, you should be accompanying me.” Zhao Chong cupped his hands and bowed, naturally not suspecting him.

When he and Qin Mubai walked out of the tent, they were dumbfounded.

The entire battalion of officers and generals were already present, including Du Chengyuan. Everyone looked at Qin Mubai and cupped their fists to greet him. Naturally, they also stared fixedly at Qin Mubai.

“I, I” Zhao Chong was at a loss for words. He really wanted to say, “I have nothing to do with him.” However, he didn’t know how to start. Wasn’t it getting darker and darker?

Du Chengyuan glanced coldly at Zhao Chong, pretending to turn a blind eye. He was chatting with Qin Mubai with a smile, as if Qin Mubai was not his killer enemy, but his sincere close friend.

Qin Mubai greeted everyone politely and smiled. He even deliberately turned his head and said, “Zhao Chong, quickly find a place to sit down! I told you to stand and talk to me for the whole afternoon. Those legs must be tired and sour, haha!”

“I, I … Yes!” Zhao Chong didn’t argue for a hundred days. He really felt like he couldn’t wash up even if he jumped into the Yellow River. Helplessly, he had no choice but to bravely pick a place to sit. He inadvertently looked at Du Chengyuan and saw that his eyes were like sharp blades, staring at him with a cold light, causing his scalp to go numb.

“Come, everyone! It’s fate to meet each other. Isn’t this the fate of brothers from our previous lives? In the future, I’ll have to thank you all for your support!” Qin Mubai raised a bowl of wine and said, “Please fill this bowl!”

“General Qin, please!” Everyone saluted and drank together.

Qin Mubai raised a bowl of wine, but the bowl suddenly stopped when it reached her mouth. She immediately spat out a mouthful of wine and cursed, “Fire! What kind of fart wine is this? It’s so sour and bitter to drink!”

The Fire Legion Corps, who was serving at the side, stood out in panic and said, “Back to General Qin, this wine has always been used in the military manor for many years.”

Everyone laughed loudly. Someone said, “General Qin is accustomed to the wine brewed by the Imperial Palace. Naturally, he can’t drink this kind of sour wine.”

“How can I drink this!” Qin Mubai curled her lips and said, “Pang Fei, take the time to personally go to Xiangyang City and make sure to order a batch of good wine. Although alcoholism is usually forbidden in the army, it is always necessary to drink wine during the Spring Festival or to reward soldiers. How can such sour vinegar be drunk as wine?”

“Yes!” Pang Fei came out and promised, but the horse revealed a look of embarrassment, “But General Mo has just arrived and is not familiar with Xiangyang City!”

“Then let Zhao Chong be your guide!” Qin Mubai instructed casually.

Zhao Chong was stunned, but he didn’t come back to his senses for a long time.

Pang Fei hurriedly reminded, “Zhao Chong, General Qin is calling you!”

“Ah!” Zhao Chong was stunned for a moment before he hurriedly jumped up and replied, “General Mo will obey!”

“Alright, let’s have a drink!” Qin Mubai casually waved his hand and smiled, “Although drinking water is not good, it can be considered a kind gesture from this general! I’ll treat everyone to a good drink another day!”

“Thank you, General Qin!”

Then, everyone sat down and ate and chatted.

Zhao Chong sat on the couch, his scalp tightening and his heart trembling. Occasionally, he would glance at Du Chengyuan. He could feel that he was staring at him all the time, and he was muttering in his heart, “I must find him to explain later. I have nothing to do with them!”

The banquet in the military tent dissipated shortly after nightfall. It was just that everyone didn’t dare to drink and get drunk.

Just as everyone was about to leave together, Pang Fei hurriedly called Zhao Chong, “Hey, Commandant Zhao, come over!”

Zhao Chong complained in his heart, but he could only walk over and cupped his fists, “General Pang, what instructions do you have?”

“Haha! Did you hear that? General Qin personally gave us leave to buy wine in Xiangyang City!” Pang Fei rubbed his hands with a thieving smile. “Why don’t we go now? Let’s go at night and return tomorrow morning without delaying anything. Do you have time … let’s go to eliminate the scourge together tonight?”

“Ah? Haha, good …” Zhao Chong could hear Pang Fei’s words. Men, coming together to “eliminate punishment” was nothing more than walking around the cave. He was obviously a friend of the Dao. He was first overjoyed. He had only said “good” halfway, but then he immediately shook his head with an expression of embarrassment. “No, no! You have to eat military justice to go out to visit prostitutes!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. We didn’t sneak out! The military order says that whoever secretly goes out to visit prostitutes will only be punished. Aren’t we going out on business? Haha!” Pang Fei couldn’t help but put his hand on Zhao Chong’s shoulder and patted his breastplate a few times. “Money, don’t worry. I’ll treat you today as a reward for showing me the way. Let’s agree first. You must lead the way well. If a girl isn’t beautiful or can’t buy good wine, I won’t let you off …” Pang Fei snickered.

“Wait, General Pang, this …”

“What are you squeaking about? You’re a grown man, are you still afraid that I’ll do something to you? Let’s go, now! Time is precious, a moment of Spring Festival is worth a thousand gold, haha!”

“Alright … Ah!”

Qin Mubai laughed happily when he heard the Hundred Cavalry soldiers returning Pang Fei’s favor in the handsome tent.

“This damn brat has a stomach full of bad water. He really has a way of doing such a thing.” Qin Mubai shook his head and smiled endlessly. “It’s a tragedy for Zhao Chong. He doesn’t even have a chance to explain to Du Chengyuan. I’ll personally add some firewood to Zhao Chong’s side tomorrow. It won’t be difficult for him to make it into a fact that he has already taken refuge with me.”

“General, what a brilliant plan!” The Hundred Cavalry Soldier replied with a smile, “By the way, that Commander Shi Shenyouzhou seems to be extremely afraid of the general. Can he use this to rope him in?”

“Not for the time being.” Qin Mubai said, “As expected, he is also a useless piece of trash in Du Chengyuan’s camp. He doesn’t know much useful stuff. Otherwise, Du Chengyuan wouldn’t have kicked him out as a sheep that would die. Think carefully, what are the two most important parts of the entire military manor?”

The Baiji soldier pondered for a while and said, “Of course, it’s the White Wave Navy of the Left Camp who deals directly with the Water Ghost, and the mercenaries who are in charge of the Central Army. The elite cavalry are now on their way!”

“Correct answer.” Qin Mubai smiled and nodded, “Zhao Chong is the commander of the navy. Then who’s next?”

“Haha, this lowly one will call the Yue Cavalry’s main horse Lirong over now!”

“Smart, hurry up and go!”

After the guard left, Qin Mubai comfortably dropped his leg on the table and smiled to himself, “You have no chance of winning if you play hard, and I’m not afraid of you if you play dark.” Du Chengyuan, Du Chengyuan, you must hold on. Don’t lose the formation so quickly, otherwise it won’t be fun. “Also, you’d better use a bit of explosive means to let me take the move, otherwise I’ll really be disappointed!”