Chapter 77

Even the Buddha has a temper, let alone Huangfu Song.

However, although Huangfu Song was angry at the Liu brothers for their rudeness, he did not specifically go out of his way to make things difficult for Liu Bei. In terms of rewarding the generals, he followed the normal procedures.

Therefore, when Huangfu Song saw Liu Bei rush over, he became even more dissatisfied.

Zhu Jun, seeing Liu Bei’s questioning, stood up for Huangfu Song and said discontentedly, "Xuande, your military achievements cannot be directly reported to the emperor, but they will not be buried. Once the rebellion is completely quelled, the court will certainly reward those with military achievements like you."

Zhu Jun’s words were very clear. Liu Bei was just a village militia captain, a commoner, who had always followed the official army in battle. There were too many teams like Liu Bei’s in the official army. If it weren’t for Liu Bei’s claim of being a relative of the imperial family, he wouldn’t even have the qualifications to appear before Huangfu Song and others.

How could he be compared to generals like Qin Feng and Cao Cao? How could Huangfu Song and others possibly send his name to the emperor? Not just Liu Bei, but anyone else would be the same.

Liu Bei, upon hearing this, realized the reasonableness and regretted his earlier impulsiveness.

At this moment, the eunuch Zhang Ju was dissatisfied and pointed, saying, "Who is this person?"

Huangfu Song introduced, "This person is a village militia... ."

Zhang Ju became furious and screamed, "We are discussing merits here, and a village militia dares to barge in and act rudely. Someone, get him out of here!"

"Understood!" Zhang Ju had also brought a guard, and a dozen people rushed forward, pushing and shoving.

Zhang Fei and Guan Yu saw this from a distance.

Zhang Fei, with his hot temper, immediately became angry and shouted, "Who dares to hit my brother, come and die!"

Liu Bei, seeing the situation, was alarmed. If Zhang Fei acted, the Liu brothers might die here today. So, Liu Bei quickened his steps, grabbed Zhang Fei with one hand, and covered his mouth with the other, shouting, "Second brother, come and help!"

With Guan Yu’s help, they managed to control Zhang Fei and dragged him away.

After the three brothers returned to their tent, Zhang Fei was still furious and shouted, "How despicable, these officials are all the same. That old man Huangfu Song dared to not report my brother’s achievements, I’ll kill him today!"

Zhang Fei, roused, picked up his spear and was about to go out.

Liu Bei quickly stopped him, saying, "Third brother, don’t be rash. Huangfu Song is a general of the court. If you kill him, we three brothers will become outlaws for life. I believe he must be angry at our disrespect, which is why he didn’t report it!"

Zhang Fei recalled the insults he had hurled at Huangfu Song a few days ago and felt embarrassed. Since it was his fault, he had nothing else to say.

Guan Yu, standing beside him, stroked his long beard, squinted his eyes, and sighed.

Liu Bei, seeing the two lose heart, feared they might abandon him. Suddenly, he had an idea and remembered the poem Qin Feng recited that morning. So, Liu Bei composed himself and recited, "When heaven is about to confer a great responsibility on any man, it first exercises his mind with suffering, and his bones with toil, and his body with hunger, and exposes him to poverty... ."

This was indeed a timeless famous line, most capable of inspiring people in adversity, especially those with fighting spirit in adversity.

There was no need to say more about Zhang Fei and Guan Yu’s fighting spirit.

Therefore, upon hearing this, they felt a deep sense of shame and knelt before Liu Bei.

"Brother! I, Zhang Fei, was wrong!"

Guan Yu clasped his hands, squinted his eyes, and turned his head, looking ashamed, and said, "Brother, with such great ambition, I am willing to follow you for life. Together, we will endure hardships, toil, and hunger, and ultimately achieve great things!"

Liu Bei was overjoyed, thinking that Qin Feng’s poem was truly well-written.

Guan Yu suddenly asked, "Brother, who wrote this poem?"

Liu Bei flapped his big ears and said solemnly, "It is my own inspiration."

Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, moved by the poem, felt Liu Bei’s broad-mindedness and became even more devoted. They knelt again, swearing to follow him to the death, with no second thoughts.

Liu Bei quickly used his final trump card, hugging Guan Yu’s red face and Zhang Fei’s leopard head, and burst into tears, repeatedly calling out, "Brothers united, their strength can cut through metal... ."

While Liu Bei was crying, in the central tent, there was a lively celebration.

Led by the Northern General Huangfu Song, they celebrated the achievements of Qin Feng, Cao Cao, and Yuan Shao. Especially for Qin Feng, everyone couldn’t help but marvel, "The youngest general in the Han dynasty for over a hundred years!"

Huangfu Song couldn’t help but say, "Zijin has great strategy, and he deserves this. In the future, he must serve the court." He then said to Cao Cao and Yuan Shao, "The future of the court depends on young men like you." After saying this, he stroked his gray beard and sighed.

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were visibly pleased, while Qin Feng merely smiled. For him, the high office of a 2,000-dan official was just the beginning. Yet, he gave off an air of not being arrogant or flustered, unperturbed by praise or criticism.

For Qin Feng, that night was truly "I have guests, and we play the zither and blow the flute."

In the small tent of the Changshe official army camp, the cries of the three brothers could be heard. Passing soldiers were puzzled, "Did Captain Liu Bei of the Huangxie Army have a family tragedy?"

The next day, Qin Feng got up early and began his morning routine.

While jogging around the camp, he noticed...

"Stand at ease, attention!"

"Now we will begin the first set of military calisthenics, ready, start—marching in place... ."

Looking at the official army performing the eighth set of radio calisthenics, Qin Feng almost fell over. He had taught the official army radio calisthenics, which they treated as an ancient, secret method of physical training. If this were passed down to later generations, it would be a disaster. However, even elementary school radio calisthenics were extremely advanced and novel 1,800 years ago.

The official army practiced with great enthusiasm, shouting, "General Qin is selfless, teaching us such an excellent method of physical training. We must practice well and strive to improve our combat capabilities soon."

Thus, Cao Cao practiced, Yuan Shao practiced, and Huangfu Song practiced. The Liu brothers, to prepare for the great responsibility bestowed by heaven, also began practicing. During the stretching exercises, whether it was a hero like Cao Cao or Guan Yu, they all raised their arms and clasped their hands to the sky, a truly rare sight.

When Qin Feng saw this, he couldn’t help but wipe his sweat, "It’s... a bit over the top... ."

However, others didn’t think so. Half an hour later, in the central tent, the Northern General Huangfu Song praised, "The soldiers are more spirited, all thanks to Zijin’s military calisthenics. Military calisthenics! What a great name!"

Everyone was in high spirits, and Qin Feng smiled, "It’s all thanks to General Huangfu’s excellent leadership."

Huangfu Song laughed, "The orders have already arrived overnight. I am about to go to Qingzhou to suppress the remnants of the Yellow Turbans. General Zhu will go to Wan City to suppress the Yellow Turbans there. As for Zijin, Mengde, and Benchu, you three will lead your troops north today to report to General Lu."

Qin Feng nodded slightly, thinking it was largely the same as in history.

He and Yuan Shao and Cao Cao were appointed as commanders of the Northern Army, and the Northern Army troops under their command were all with Lu Zhi in Guangzong. Therefore, it made sense for the three to go there.

Cao Cao and Yuan Shao were delighted, as Lu Zhi faced the leader of the rebels, Zhang Jue. If they could successfully eliminate him, it would be a great achievement, far more significant than following Huangfu Song to fight scattered rebels.

Qin Feng, however, had another thought. He could take a detour to Ye City, "This time, with a formal marriage proposal, that old man Zhen Yi should agree, right?"

(Thank you, Fuzhou Ah Xin, and the two brothers who supported Xiao Yi with tractors. Xiao Yi will not let you down. Four updates today.) Mobile users, please visit http://m.piaotia.net

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