Chapter 3

"Thanks to you, Chen Yuhou, otherwise we would have been in big trouble!"

Li Jiang was really worried. The enemy scout appeared five miles away from where their main force was hiding. Had they already been discovered?

"I just helped a little. Even without me, I believe General Li would have discovered them as well."

Li Jiang gave a bitter laugh. "To be honest, our scout camp has been completely wiped out. I was sent by the commander to form a temporary scout camp. I used to be a commander of the infantry and have never dealt with scouts before. The fifty men under me were also selected from the cavalry. None of us have any experience, and we didn't even notice the alarmed birds."

"Which army are you from?"

Chen Qing then remembered that there were eight Song armies that participated in the Fuping battle.

"Does Chen Yuhou know this?"

Li Jiang lifted his hair, and Chen Qing saw the eight characters on his forehead: 'Red Heart for the Country, Vow to Kill the Jin Bandits.'

Chen Qing's gaze froze. This was the famous Eight-Character Army in history!

Even Yue Fei came from this army.

Li Jiang had already developed a fondness for talent. This Chen Yuhou was both wise and brave, and had experience. He was exactly the kind of commander their scout camp needed!

Li Jiang thought for a moment and said, "Chen Yuhou, you are from the Huanqing Army, right?"

Chen Qing nodded. Actually, he didn't know which army he belonged to. Since he had taken the copper badge of this Yuhou, he could only admit it.

"I have a suggestion for you. When you get to the camp, it's best not to mention that you are from the Huanqing Army."

"Why?"

"This defeat was caused by the Huanqing Army. Everyone hates you to the bone!"

Chen Qing was taken aback, and he had a bad feeling.

...

Wang Yan's army was hiding in a valley fifty miles away. After the disastrous defeat at Fuping, his Eight-Character Army also suffered heavy losses. Out of 13,000 troops, only 6,000 remained, losing more than half.

Chen Qing waited outside a small tent for a moment. The tent curtain was lifted, and a general walked out. He wore black armor, a phoenix-wing helmet, and a sword at his waist. He was about thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old, with a long face, a heroic appearance, and sharp eyes.

"Who among you is Chen Yuhou?"

Chen Qing didn't know how to salute. He glanced at the other generals, who all knelt on one knee and clasped their hands.

He followed suit, kneeling on one knee and clasping his hands. "This subordinate is Chen Qing!"

"I am the Chief Commander Wang Yan. I heard that you not only killed nine Jurchen scouts but also discovered and captured Jurchen spies near us!"

"It wasn't just my merit. If General Li hadn't sent me to intercept them in time, they would have escaped."

Wang Yan nodded in approval and asked, "Where are you from? How long have you been in the army?"

"Reporting to the commander, this subordinate is from Taiyuan and has been in the army for three years."

After a pause, Wang Yan asked an unrelated question, "Can you read and write?"

Chen Qing was puzzled and clasped his hands. "This subordinate is a Yuhou, of course, I can read and write!"

Wang Yan looked at him meaningfully. "Opportunities are given to the brave. If you recognize the Eight-Character Army, then stay!"

Chen Qing breathed a long sigh of relief. If Wang Yan had asked more questions, he would have been exposed.

...

The rain finally stopped, and the sky was overcast.

Wang Yan looked at the sky, his eyes filled with anxiety. Although they had captured the Jurchen spies, two of them had already escaped, and the enemy had discovered their whereabouts.

"Commander, we must set out tonight," Deputy General Fu Xuan said softly.

Wang Yan hesitated. He knew tonight was the last chance, but they were not yet ready.

"Commander, are you still thinking of Fu Xuan?" Fu Xuan understood his superior's thoughts.

Wang Yan nodded and frankly said, "Directly appointing Fu Moshan would make others不服 (unhappy). Let's follow the rules and hold a public election!"

Their scout camp had been completely wiped out and needed to be rebuilt. Li Jiang was the commander of the scout camp, but they also needed a scout chief.

Deputy General Fu Xuan recommended his nephew, Fu Moshan.

But Wang Yan knew Fu Moshan well. He was illiterate and rash, suitable for a fierce general but not for a scout chief.

The scout camp commander, Li Jiang, strongly opposed the appointment of Fu Moshan.

Seeing that the commander was not budging, Fu Xuan said helplessly, "A public election is best, but I'm afraid we don't have the time!"

"There are only four candidates, just a few matches, it's completely feasible!"

Fu Xuan was stunned. "Aren't there only three candidates?"

Wang Yan smiled. "Just now, Li Jiang recommended the Huanqing Army Yuhou, Chen Qing, to be the scout chief."

"What!"

Fu Xuan's face changed. Li Jiang actually recommended a Huanqing Army Yuhou to compete for the scout chief position. Was he crazy?

Fu Xuan said coldly, "The rule of the Eight-Character Army is that family members have priority. Does the commander think it's appropriate to let a defeated general from the Huanqing Army compete?"

Wang Yan knew that Chen Qing had led four old and weak soldiers to escape the Jurchen scouts, killing nine of them, and performed excellently on the return journey. He was a wise and brave Yuhou.

From Chen Qing's calm eyes, Wang Yan saw the potential of an excellent commander.

Wang Yan looked at Fu Xuan and said calmly, "These are extraordinary times, and breaking the rules is not impossible."

Fu Xuan wanted to object, but Wang Yan waved his hand. "We don't have time. Gather all the commanders for a discussion!"

...

Chen Qing's dinner was still dry bread, but with a bowl of hot soup.

He was still a Yuhou, a military officer equivalent to a sergeant, not in command of troops, similar to a platoon sergeant.

But even this small officer was a fake. His predecessor's real identity was just a squad leader.

But he was grateful to heaven for letting him survive the pile of corpses and escape the Jurchen cavalry's pursuit.

Liu Wu and Zhao Xiaoyi were still his subordinates. Liu Wu was from Linyou County, Fengxiang Prefecture, a veteran of over ten years, which is why he survived.

Zhao Xiaoyi was only seventeen, having joined the army for half a year. He was Liu Wu's nephew, very clever, and thin like a monkey. He closely followed Liu Wu and survived by chance.

Chen Qing learned from Liu Wu to break the bread into pieces and soak it in the hot soup, sprinkling some salt.

Everyone else sat together in groups, but the three of them sat alone on the cliff edge, ignored by everyone.

Liu Wu, seeing no one around, lowered his voice to Chen Qing. "Xiaoyi heard some news. Xiaoyi, tell the Yuhou!"

"What did you hear?" Chen Qing looked at Zhao Xiaoyi in confusion.

"My money bag fell, so I went to the small tent to look for it. The soldiers didn't let me get close, but I heard people arguing inside, very loudly."

"What were they arguing about?"

"That Li Jiang, who brought us back, said, 'He has the qualifications to compete, he is brave and wise, and killed nine Jurchen scouts.' Immediately, someone shouted, 'No characters on his face, not qualified,' and others cursed, saying that people from the Huanqing Army are all dogs, only causing trouble!"

Chen Qing thought to himself, are they arguing about me?

"Then what?"

"Then the commander said, 'Follow the rules!' and the people inside stormed out. I was scared and ran back."

"When did this happen?"

"Just now... Yuhou, they're coming!" Zhao Xiaoyi's face turned pale.

Chen Qing turned around and saw five or six generals in mountain-shaped armor walking quickly toward them. The leading general was a fierce man, at least 1.9 meters tall, looking like a black bear, with a face full of scars and fierce eyes.

The generals stopped in front of Chen Qing. The leading fierce man crossed his arms and lifted his chin. "So, you're the Huanqing dog who claims to have killed nine Jin soldiers?"

Chen Qing ignored him and used two small sticks to press the bread floating in the soup to the bottom of the bowl.

"The hell are you ignoring me!" The fierce man glared, revealing his ferocity.

Liu Wu quickly stood up, bowing and smiling. "General, we killed Jin soldiers by luck."

"Get out of the way, I'm not talking to you!"

The fierce man pushed Liu Wu, making him stumble, and then said coldly to Chen Qing, "I'll ask you one last time. Stand up and answer me. If you keep pretending, I'll kick your balls off."

Chen Qing still ignored him, tearing the last piece of bread and putting it in the soup.

The fierce man, enraged, kicked Chen Qing's bowl, spilling the soup and bread on the ground.

Chen Qing stood up suddenly, clenching his fists, and glared at the fierce man.

The fierce man showed his huge fist in front of Chen Qing's face, with a fierce look. "Huanqing dogs don't deserve our food, only my fists."

He then punched Chen Qing's face fiercely.

Chen Qing dodged the punch, stepping back quickly to avoid the attack.

Chen Qing said coldly, "I don't know you, and I don't care about your military rations. It was your commander who asked me to stay. If you don't welcome me, I'll say goodbye to General Wang."

The fierce man turned to his companions and laughed. "Did you hear that? The Huanqing dog wants to report me!"

A short general incited, "Moshan, why bother with him? Beat him up and throw him out."

An older general advised, "Old Fu, just show him a bit, don't go too far. We don't want people to say the Eight-Character Army is narrow-minded and can't tolerate outsiders."

"Who cares! The Huanqing dogs caused our defeat, and we still have to consider their feelings?"

Although he said that, the fierce man was still worried about the commander's punishment. He pointed to his face with his thumb. "Huanqing dog, listen up. I'm Fu Moshan, the cavalry chief of the first army's third camp, a true member of the Eight-Character Army. I'm planning to compete for the scout chief position. I heard you, a Huanqing dog, also want to compete. I don't like it. Either show me your skills or get lost."

Hearing the constant insults, Chen Qing's anger flared up.

But since there was a reason, he didn't want to argue and controlled his anger, shaking his head. "I'm not interested in your chief position, and I don't want to fight with you. Please leave!"

Fu Moshan, following his uncle's instructions, wanted to test Chen Qing's abilities.

He wouldn't give up just because Chen Qing said a few soft words.

"You're quite good at pretending. I've already challenged you and brought witnesses. Huanqing dog, are you trying to fool me?"

"I'll say it again..."

But Fu Moshan didn't give him a chance, stepping forward and kicking Chen Qing's groin fiercely.