Although Gong Xichou had received the news in advance, he couldn't help but change his expression when he heard the order to withdraw troops.
He had just returned from leading his troops without even having time to drink a sip of water. He rushed to his adoptive father's side in anger. Before he got close, he heard the sound of stringed instruments. He pushed open the door, and the hot air mixed with the aroma of wine and rouge rushed in his face. He shouted, "Adoptive father—"
The old general put down the wine bottle.
Not surprisingly, he said, "Ah Nian is here, sit down."
When he raised his eyes, he saw Gong Xichou still in armor.
She caught a glimpse of the weapon on his waist and frowned slightly.
His expression suddenly became three points unhappy.
"Anian, what do you look like?"
Gong Xichou casually took off his weapon and threw it to the soldier standing by the door. He strode forward and said anxiously, "Foster father, the allied forces are just a bunch of rabble. If we gather the strength of all the generals, it will be as easy as taking something out of a bag to wipe them out. Why are you withdrawing?"
The old general wondered what Gong Xichou was going to say.
This is not surprising, it is something Gong Xichou would say.
But being mentally prepared and actually hearing it are two completely different feelings. The old general put down the wine bottle with a clang of displeasure and said sullenly: "Anian, you are really getting more and more out of character! We just need to follow your orders, and don't ask any more questions about other things."
The aide-de-camp sitting at the lower right didn't even blink.
Gong Xichou hesitated to speak: "But—"
Before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by an old general who looked familiar. Gong Xichou cast a cold look at him - he was very familiar with this old man. He was an old man who had followed his adoptive father for many years. He had no special skills but was good at flattering and handling things. In addition, he was also related to the old general and was used to taking advantage of his seniority.
He said, "General Gongxi said this so lightly. Before the expedition, those heroic words were still ringing in my ears, but what happened? In the battle with the rebels, he lost more than 2,000 elite soldiers. He failed and returned with his troops in disgrace, with heavy losses. Now he is saying that 'the allied forces are a mob'... Is he trying to shirk responsibility for his own incompetence and is he afraid of being questioned?"
The others present were silent.
They had been feasting and drinking every day these days, and their bodies were lazy. It was not that they did not want to fight and make merit, but even Gong Xichou could not get the upper hand from the Alliance Army, so they were a little nervous and thought that the news was misleading - the Alliance Army was still quite powerful.
Plus the order to withdraw troops—
They just went with the flow.
As for the matter of squeezing out Gong Xichou
Hey, there are so many people who can't stand Gong Xichou's barbaric behavior, but they have to endure it because of Gong Xichou's undefeated record and the old general's protection. Now there is a chance to watch "Warrior" jump out and mock Gong Xichou, tut tut tut, such a good opportunity to watch the show can't be missed.
Everyone seemed to be tasting wine with their heads down, but in fact they were secretly pricking up their ears to "listen" to the excitement. Some of those who were more "foresighted" were secretly accumulating strength - if the barbarian Gong Xichou suddenly went crazy, they could evacuate immediately to avoid being affected.
To their disappointment, Gong Xichou did not lose his temper.
He just snorted derisively.
His eyes fell on the old general, waiting for a reply.
The old general scolded his henchmen who were jumping up and down, then he softened his expression and said comfortingly: "Winning and losing are common in the military, and no one dares to say that he has won every battle. To look down on the heroes of the world is like a frog in a well, and sooner or later you will suffer a great loss. An Nian, it is not your father's intention to withdraw the troops, but you have to obey the military order."
The seemingly loving eyes were filled with the same words.
Anian, don't be willful.
Seeing that Gong Xichou didn't say anything, the old general tried to smooth things over again: "You must be tired after traveling all the way. Go down and have a rest first."
Gong Xichou stood there for a long time without moving.
The old general's face became darker.
Finally, the young man clasped his fists unwillingly, turned around and walked away, his footsteps no longer light as before, and every step seemed to be venting his inner resentment. Without Gong Xichou, the spoiler, the music that had stopped was played again, and some people poured wine and some people laughed and joked.
The staff messenger said: "The young general's temper..."
The old general said, "Young people are very popular."
"General, why don't you send someone to explain to the young general?" The staff envoy said calmly, but if Gong Xichou was there, he would have tasted some sarcasm in his words. He said to the old general, "Don't worry about hurting the harmony between father and son. It's not worth it."
"It's okay. Ah Nian is not the kind of person who gets angry easily." The old general waved his hand indifferently and said in a heavy tone, "This kid forgets a lot. However, the envoy's words are not without reason. Ah Nian is already this old, but he still can't calm down... It's just a mistake... There are many heroes in the world, and he can't really be invincible... Alas."
With just a few words, the old general attributed Gong Xichou's temper to the failure of the expedition rather than to his dissatisfaction with King Zhu's orders.
The staff and messenger just smiled and said nothing.
Gong Xichou turned around and walked away before he returned to his normal expression.
The official had been waiting for a long time and caught up with him at a trot.
"Major General."
He looked somewhat apprehensive.
Gong Xichou was not harsh and ruthless in his treatment of his subordinates, but high-level Wudan warriors had an aura of authority without anger. When they were in a bad mood, the aura of the surrounding heaven and earth would also be affected by it and become cold and murderous. Other Wudan warriors would feel very uncomfortable when they approached them.
I'm subconsciously afraid.
Gong Xichou waved his hand and said, "Let's go home."
The officer asked, "Aren't you going to the barracks?"
Gong Xichou said: "No! It's too boring."
His subordinates felt their scalps tingling when they heard him complain about being bored.
Because, every time Gong Xichou complained about being bored, he would find something to entertain himself, either singing, drinking, dancing, or singing, drinking, and dancing at the same time, or having someone play beads with him... The officials felt desperate just thinking about it.
"Major General..." The voice was pleading.
Gong Xichou waved his hand and let him go generously.
After returning to the temporary residence, Gong Xichou keenly sensed a strange scent in his territory - this scent was not dangerous, but rather very weak and harmless.
When he saw the source of the breath, he remembered.
The dancer that his adoptive father had forced upon him by both soft and hard tactics.
The woman's outfit this time contained much more fabric than her previous one. She was completely covered from head to toe, and wrapped like a barrel from top to bottom, so that almost no female features could be seen. She was stunned to see Gong Xichou coming back, as if she had not expected to see him again so soon.
The hand that was placing the plum branch froze and stood still.
She was at a loss.
Stammering: "This, this flower is..."
Gong Xichou waved his hand to signal her not to explain further.
Question: "Did anyone give you any trouble during my absence?"
The woman shook her head: "No, everything is fine."
Seeing that Gong Xichou had no intention of keeping her, she bowed and prepared to leave, holding the plum blossom branch. As soon as she took a step, she heard Gong Xichou ask her a strange question: "Can you make beads?"
The woman was surprised: "Ah?"
Playing beads...
Literally.
That was a monkey game that all the girls in the boudoir despised, but Gong Xichou never tired of it. The girl naturally couldn't play it, but she could help pick up the beads that were thrown far away. The girl was wearing thick clothes that made it difficult for her to move, and she looked a little clumsy when she ran.
After a while, sweat began to appear on his forehead.
Gong Xichou saw it and said, "Ah, it's really different."
The woman was puzzled and asked, "What's the difference?"
Gong Xichou threw the pearl casually, and the round and shiny longan pearl fell steadily into the porcelain vase where the woman inserted the plum blossom branch. He smiled and said, "I know a mama, oh, the 'girl' you are used to calling her, with that kind of physical strength, she can raid 800 miles at night without taking a breath!"
The woman heard this and remained silent suspiciously.
"Night raid... 800 miles?"
Gong Xichou explained: "It was a serious night raid of 800 miles."
The woman became more and more confused, looking at Gong Xichou blankly, and said without asking for further explanation: "A night raid of 800 miles, is there anything wrong with that?"
Gong Xichou: “…”
The woman pondered Gong Xichou's words carefully.
He was surprised and said, "There is such a heroine!"
Gong Xichou skipped the discussion about seriousness and irrelevantness with an embarrassed look, and threw beads in a fancy way again - this time it was the "mother and child chasing soul style". A bead was thrown first, and when it was about to fall in mid-air, the second bead hit it and used the force, and the two beads fell into the porcelain bottle one after another - there were two ding-dong sounds, which was very pleasant to the ear.
He said: "Well, she is also a remarkable 'lady'."
A woman who has the conduct of a man is called a lady.
The last time he met Shen Tang in private, his already high favorability increased a lot. He had never seen such a close friend who was so suitable for him. It seemed that everything about him was good. After hearing Gong Xichou's evaluation, the woman asked curiously, "But is it the young general's beauty?"
"Beauty?"
Gong Xichou expressed his incomprehension.
It's not that he doesn't understand the word "beauty", but -
Compared to "beauty", he feels that the word "soulmate" is more suitable.
Furthermore—
No beauty would fight to the death the first time they meet.
He beat Shen Tang hard, and Shen Tang beat him the same way.
Gong Xichou shook his head: "Not really."
The woman was surprised and asked, "What the young general wants is unattainable?"
Gong Xichou: “…”
The woman was thinking of something. She sighed and said, "But, to be admired by the young general, she must be an unrivaled beauty."
He straightened up in an instant from his lazy sitting posture, and he finally realized that he and the woman were talking at cross purposes and were not on the same channel at all.
Gong Xichou reminded her.
"Mama can attack eight hundred miles at night without taking a breath."
You call this a peerless beauty who stands out for her beauty
The woman's mind also came to her senses. She said awkwardly, "I can't imagine that military matters are not women's business..."
After hearing this, Gong Xichou couldn't help but complain to the woman: "I was attending a banquet before, and I heard an old woman scolding her daughter-in-law, saying 'talent and eloquence are not women's business', and everyone around praised her. Then you said that military battles are not women's business... So there is nothing I need to learn?"
I couldn't help but look at the woman with a "why are you so lazy?" look. She didn't learn this, she didn't learn that - which made Mama look even more rare.
If we use a bead as an analogy, this is definitely the biggest, brightest, smoothest, roundest and most outstanding one among all the beads in his collection!
woman:"… "
Gong Xichou raised his thick eyebrows and said sternly, "Then what are you learning?"
The woman was frightened and trembled. She was intimidated by the aura of the warrior. Her face turned pale and she said hesitantly, "Learn, learn how to manage household chores, how to be filial to my parents-in-law, how to serve my husband..."
She has a decent family background and good looks.
Her father also wanted to use her future marriage to win over others and strengthen his power. He also allowed her to study and learn to read, and privately hired a teacher who was proficient in dance and music to teach her. The woman also liked it and learned it very well.
It was originally intended to be used for future bedroom fun with my husband.
Unexpectedly, this became her life-saving straw. She was targeted because of her appearance and figure, and was awarded to Gong Xichou because of her outstanding dancing skills.
Gong Xichou muttered, "No desire to make progress."
woman:"… "
When did she stop striving for progress
Gong Xichou saw that she looked unconvinced, so he started to argue with her: "You are unconvinced? Are your parents-in-law's children all dead or disobedient and unfilial? Do you expect other girls to be filial to them? Your husband is a human pig with his limbs cut off, unable to take care of himself, and you expect him to serve him? As for managing the household affairs, breakfast and dinner, food and clothing, aren't there people in the mansion who take care of it?"
woman:"… "
Gong Xichou counted with her by counting on his fingers.
"After all the calculations, isn't it quite unpromising?"
Gong Xichou still can't understand it.
Now I hear that it was because he didn't learn this or that. He was so lazy. It turns out that it was Mama who was diligent and hardworking and motivated!
The woman was speechless.
Following Gong Xichou's logic, she felt deeply ashamed.
Gong Xichou saw that she was beginning to reflect on herself, and patted her shoulder with satisfaction, saying, "It's right to know that you are wrong. Life is full of opportunities and there is no end to learning."
It is never too late to turn back after losing your way.
The woman whose shoulders were almost broken by the blow: "..."
After influencing one person, Gong Xichou was in a good mood.
The woman's face was bitter: "But, General, women are not tolerant of the world. They have no literary mind and no military courage. Even if they are ambitious..."
It is nothing more than a thing that is despised by others.
Even women would use "XX is not a woman's business" to preach with a clear conscience - such as beauty is short-lived, "short-lived" because this woman is born to bring disaster to the country and the people, or her outstanding talent brings disaster, or her fate is low and she has no support, never talking about the world or the perpetrators. All the mistakes are the fault of one person.
Gong Xichou said: "Mama is different."
A soulmate has nothing to do with gender.
The woman didn't understand what he meant.
I just think Gong Xichou likes that "Mama" very much, so naturally he wouldn't say a bad word about her.
at the same time-
Shen Tang sneezed several times.
"Who is saying bad things about me behind my back?"
I rubbed my nose and it still felt a little itchy.
Lin Feng studied hard: "Maybe it's a compliment."
Shen Tang thought so too. How could anyone be willing to scold her when she heard this? "Praise? Hehe, it's not impossible. If there really is such a person, I would only think of Gong Xichou."
Thinking this way, my mood improved.
Lin Feng's expression changed slightly: "Isn't that an enemy?"
Shen Tang sat down carelessly: "Those with conflicting interests are enemies. Haven't they not started fighting yet? Besides, Gong Xichou has an interesting temper. It's worth making friends with him. He has a lot of experience and a lot of health. It's best to use him when you are short of experience."
Lin Feng barely understood the first two sentences, but the last one...
"More blood? More experience?"
Shen Tang explained: "Don't those folklore books always say that you become stronger when you meet a strong person? Fighting with a strong person, you accumulate experience, this is 'more experience', as for 'thick blood'... it means that Gong Xichou is very strong, no matter how hard you fight, he can't be killed, just like the pig that Wuhui bled to death, the pig didn't die even after a basin of blood was drained, this is 'thick blood'!"
She explained it in a simple and easy-to-understand way, and Lin Feng understood it.
only-
Shen Tang saw that the little girl looked a little embarrassed and her eyebrows were slightly frowned, as if she had encountered something that was very troubling her.
She asked with concern, "What's wrong?"
Lin Feng sighed maturely.
"I am wondering how to be both loyal and righteous."
Shen Tang: “???”
Several question marks popped up in her mind.
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