The Glory After Rebirth

Ling Zhang and Ling Zhaowen left in the morning on this day and didn’t return until the next day. The reason why they had paid a visit to the Qi County was that there was a herb farm for sale there. The previous owner of it was the magistrate of the Qi County, who had already been taken into custody, and whose properties had been confiscated. The local government had decided to sell the herb farm.

The herb farm was a large-scale one, and a lot of people intended to purchase it, but after people of Ling family mounted a bid for it, all those people gave up.

It took quite some doing for Ling Zhang and his uncle to officially take over the herb farm. They discharged all previous works on the farm except for herb farmers. Ling Zhaowen seconded Zhou Quanfu to this herb farm to take charge of it. The herb farm in the southern city was now in the charge of Wu Kang, who was Zhou Quanfu’s apprentice and had just got a promotion.

There was a long distance between the Qi County and Tanyang City. It would take a long time to travel between the two places, so they needed some security guards to guard the herb farm.

Ling Zhang spent the night there. After handling most important issues with Ling Zhaowen, Ling Zhang assigned Butler Li to stay, recruit some security guards and then return to Tanyang after everything is back on track.

During his stay in the Qi County, Ling Zhang had discovered that over 10,000 troops of the new Prefecture Guards had passed by the Qi County before going to the Grand Mang Mountain, their intention unknown.

“I saw Dai Cheng’s men going to the Grand Mang Mountain. There were a lot of them,” Ling Zhang informed Yuwen Tong after returning home.

“The shortcut on the Grand Mang Mountain considerably shortens the time that it takes to get to the capital city. The emperor fears that someone else might take advantage of it and mount another revolt, so he ordered Dai Cheng to block it, which will be a huge project. Zhang Chong’s men had been secretly digging in there for years. It’ll take a month or two to block it,” replied Yuwen Tong.

“So Dai Cheng is going to stay in Tanyang for one even two months?”

“Yeah. The emperor has nobody else he can trust to do this for him. Moreover, the commander of the new Tanyang Prefecture Guards still stands undecided.”

“I wonder who will be assigned here.”

Ling Zhang was somewhat worried that the new commander might be like Zhang Chong. In that case, people of Tanyang would suffer again.

Yuwen Tong appeared rather composed, as if he had got it all worked out some time ago.

Ling Zhang, who found his reaction somewhat suspicious, craned closer to him and asked, “You’ve got some news, haven’t you?”

Yuwen Tong flicked a glance at him. “You want to know?”

Ling Zhang looked at him with an expectant expression in his sparkling eyes. “Yeah.”

Yuwen Tong lifted his eyebrows and suddenly flicked his chin signaling Ling Zhang.

Ling Zhang watched him, confused. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

Yuwen Tong just gazed at him.

It was after pondering for quite a while that Ling Zhang came to understand. With that he flushed and gave him a dirty look. “Keep it if you like it so much.”

‘He wants me to kiss him on my own account? No way!’ he thought.

The next moment, Yuwen Tong suddenly craned over and kissed his lips hard with a distinct sound.

This reply sent Ling Zhang speechless.

‘Does Yuwen Tong wish to be beaten up?!’

“The emperor intends to assign He Xiao here.”

He Xiao? Ling Zhang was instantly distracted. That visit he paid Tao Feng a couple of days ago turned out to be helpful. He had already had a shrewd idea of who this He Xiao guy was.

He Xiao was loyal to the emperor and counted as one of the emperor’s trusted high-ranking military officers, just like Dai Cheng, only that he was of humble blood and young, promoted from the Number One Warrior (title conferred on the one who came first in the highest imperial examination of martial arts).

He had been working under Dai Cheng from the very beginning of his military career. After Dai Cheng left the capital city, he had been named acting commander of the Garrison Battalion, which was an unmistakable indication of the emperor’s trust in him.

“But He Xiao is so young. Is the emperor really going to appoint him as the commander of the Prefecture Guards?” Ling Zhang was greatly surprised.

“Because He Xiao is from an unquestionably clean background. He had been scouted and trained by Dai Cheng himself before the title of the Number One Warrior was conferred on him. It could be said that he has been a loyal member of the emperor’s faction from the very beginning. On top of this, He Xiao is a man of great dash. He once openly stated that he was unconvinced of my reputation. Three years ago, when I returned to the capital city, he, who happened to have just been assigned to the Garrison Battalion under Dai Cheng’s command, challenged me to a competition. His kung fu is pretty good, and so are his military strategy and tactics. He’s a talented officer. The emperor thinks pretty highly of him.

Besides, after the post of the commander of the Tanyang Prefecture Guards fell vacant, a lot of people in the capital city have been secretly pulling strings trying to get this position. There are very few people that the emperor deems trustworthy after the attempted usurpation of the Sixth Prince and Zhang Chong. Under no circumstances will he assign any of those people to Tanyang.”

‘When all is said, the fact remains that the reason why the emperor is going to send this He Xiao guy to Tanyang is because he doesn’t get along with Yuwen Tong!

He’s trying to make life difficult for Yuwen Tong!’

Ling Zhang lost its composure. ‘Given the relationship between Ling family and Yuwen family, that He Xiao guy is probably going to make trouble for Ling family.’

He was utterly unwilling to see that He Xiao come to Tanyang.

But there was no trace of worry whatsoever on the face of Yuwen Tong.

After thinking for a few moments, Ling Zhang still couldn’t help but ask, “Can you stop him from coming to Tanyang or have him replaced?”

‘Someone from another faction would also be okay. Those people will never come into conflict with Yuwen Tong as long as they are not stupid,’ thought Ling Zhang.

This time, Yuwen Tong made no reply. Once again, he flicked his chin.

This reply sent Ling Zhang speechless.

He stared at Yuwen Tong silently.

Yuwen Tong let out a sigh in the knowledge that he had to make the first move again. He put his arms around Ling Zhang’s waist and gave him a kiss.

“It would be safer to let He Xiao come to Tanyang than to let anybody else come.”

‘What’s this supposed to mean?’ Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, puzzled. “Why’s that?”

“Though He Xiao and I never get along, he has a sense of propriety, and is also open and aboveboard. Compared with those who like to play underhand tricks to trip people up, he’s more unlikely to cause any harm.”

Ling Zhang generally understood what Yuwen Tong had said, but he still kept feeling that something was not right. ‘There’s definitely something else that Yuwen Tong is keeping back from me.’

But in terms of trust, he had absolute trust in Yuwen Tong in this regard. Since Yuwen Tong had said that He Xiao was the most suitable person, then he definitely was.

“All right. I’ll go and talk with my uncle so that he can make preparations.”

After talking with his uncle, Ling Zhang went to the guards’ yard.

He had just arrived at the guards’ yard when he spotted something strange. Yang Liuzi and some others either had a black eye or bruises on his face, as if having been beaten up.

At first Ling Zhang was taken aback, thinking, ‘Was Yuwen Tong too harsh on them? He beat them up?’

But he soon dismissed this thought. If Yuwen Tong intended to punish them, he would never have done it this way. This kind of punishment but inflicted pains lasting only a short time. If he had punished them, it would have struck in their hearts dread that would linger for a very long time. He would definitely, without causing them any physical harm, have had them regret having been born to this world.

“What happened to you?” Ling Zhang’s eyes swept from face to face.

Young Master and others were somewhat afraid to make eye contact with Ling Zhang. “Young Master, we…we accidentally fell over.”

Ling Zhang’s face darkened. Eyes staring flintily at them, he kept silent.

The atmosphere instantly changed. Taken aback, Yang Liuzi and others didn’t dare to keep the truth back. “Young Master, that’s a slip of the tongue. We–We were beaten up.”

“By whom?”

Yang Liuzi and others cast a glance at Wang Dashan and his men.

On making eye contact with Yang Liuzi and others, Wang Dashan and his men couldn’t help but clenched their teeth secretly, feeling that these guys were such a bunch of wusses.

But when their eyes met Ling Zhang’s, Wang Dashan and his men immediately cringed, quicker than Yang Liuzi and others had.

“Young Master, we were just roughhousing with them.”

“We were testing their formation knowledge. It was because they were so bad at it that we beaten them up.”

Ling Zhang’s face went sullen. ‘They think I don’t know what they have done? If there had been only these two reasons, they would never have beaten them so hard.’

“Are you telling me the truth or not?” Ling Zhang was angered.

Wang Dashan and others were instantly scared and told the truth in one breath, “Young Master, we were just jealous of their being instructed by the Marshal himself!”

This reply sent Ling Zhang speechless.

He kept silent for quite a while, at a loss what to say to them.

“What a bunch of good-for-nothings!”

‘What’s so special about Yuwen Tong? He’s only human, with one head and two arms just like everybody else. What’s the point of all this fuss?

This is so disgraceful!’

“The rocks Yuwen Tong had you put on your heads while running, are they still here?”

On hearing this question, Wang Dashan and others were somewhat scared. “Ye–Yes.”

“Go and put them on your heads. Run for two hours.”

This instruction instantly brought woebegone expressions to their faces, but they didn’t dare to disobey. Having no choice, they obediently went to carry those rocks and put them on their heads.

“You’re my men, but you beat your brothers up because of Yuwen Tong, which is something only good-for-nothings would do. I’ll suffer huge humiliation if anybody else finds out about this. Let this be a lesson to you. If this becomes a precedent, you won’t get away with a mere punishment of running with rocks on your heads. Now go and start running!”

Wang Dashan and others were taken aback and hurriedly ran away.

Seeing them running, Ling Zhang felt slightly more at ease and looked at Yang Liuzi and some others. “Now show me what you learned yesterday.”

“Yes, Young Master!” Yang Liuzi and others, who also didn’t dare to hesitate, immediately began demonstrating the moves they had learned.

It was after running far away that Wang Dashan and his men dared to secretly talk to each other. “Young Master was so angry.”

“What did Young Master mean by the last remark?” Qiu Bing asked in puzzlement. “Was he warning us not to show any excitement when we see the Marshal from now on?”

“Stupid. Young Master was saying that we are his men, that we are not supposed to be unbridled, otherwise we might bring shame on him,” observed Zhou Xiang.

“That’s enough. We were indeed being reckless, which is a mistake that ought not to be repeated. Even if we are to beat them up again, we must make sure that Young Master won’t find out,” said Wang Dashan.

“Elder Brother Wang is right,” other men chorused.

Liu Yi flicked a glance at them and commented in a bland tone of voice, “Some day Young Master will marry the Marshal. Given that Ling family’s social status is not as high as that of Yuwen family, Young Master will be reduced to an unfavorable position if we stand overawed by Marshal Yuwen. People might regard what happened today as some kind of joke, but if it’s made a precedent, they will no doubt think differently of us, which will inevitably bring negative influence on the reputation of Young Master.”

Wang Dashan and others were all startled. Clearly, this had never crossed the mind of any of them.

All of them lapsed into silence.

“We are so useless. We disgraced Young Master,” said Qiu Bing in a muted voice.

“Elder Brother Liu, your perception of this matter is indeed the most insightful. If it weren’t for your reminding us, we wouldn’t have come to realize this,” Zhou Xiang also observed.

“You can see things from a perspective none of the rest of us can. Please give us a warning if we’re in this kind of situation again, so that we can handle things more cautiously,” said Wang Dashan.

Liu Yi replied, “Okay.” As regards the prospect that he might go to the capital city with Ling Zhang in a few days, he decided to keep it to himself for the moment.

Wang Dashan and others, in the realization that they had made a stupid mistake, ran rather vigorously, and they didn’t dare to talk any more nonsense as well.

Ling Zhang was somewhat surprised to see this, but since all of them seemed to have realized their mistake and be willingly accepting the punishment, he felt even more gratified. When two hours’ time was up, he instructed them to stop.

Wang Dashan and others hurriedly put the rocks down and gathered around Ling Zhang.

“Keep practicing the fourth array of the formation. Nobody slack.”

“Yes, Young Master!”

The martial formation that Wang Dashan and his men were practicing threw Yang Liuzi and others into deep admiration, which greatly motivated them to work harder on the rudimentary knowledge of martial formations.