The soldiers looked back and saw a man squatting beside them. He was wearing a green shirt, had an elegant and handsome appearance, but his eyes were as cunning as a fox.
At first glance, he looks handsome, but his manners are not at all decent. At this moment, he is holding a bowl of steaming hot knife-cut noodles in his hand, slurping it while staring at them with sharp eyes.
The soldiers were former members of the Xizhou camp and had never seen Chi Qing before. However, when they saw his clothes and demeanor, they immediately thought of Gui Ce, the military strategist beside the general in the rumors. The soldiers privately called him "the smiling fox in green."
There is no one in the world who is easier to talk to than him, but he can be chatting and laughing with you heart to heart one second, and chop off your head without blinking an eye the next second.
The soldiers' backs were covered with cold sweat, and they stammered, "Chi... Military Advisor Chi?"
"Hey, do you recognize me?"
After slurping a mouthful of noodles, Chi Qing touched his face and wondered if he was too handsome.
The soldiers' hearts were beating like drums. It was against military regulations for the Fire Camp to open a private kitchen. The previous general turned a blind eye to it, but the new general is known as the living devil.
It is said that a new official will start three fires when he takes office. The first fire was started by a military prostitute a few days ago, and the private stove in the camp may be the second fire that is about to be started.
Chi Qing lost interest immediately when he saw the eight-foot-tall men turning pale with fear when they saw him. He secretly blamed Feng Shuo for his vicious reputation, which made such a amiable man unpopular in the army.
He brushed the dust off his robe and stood up, saying "I'll go to Huotouying to try some fresh food tonight," and strolled over to the big tent where Feng Shuo was with his bowl of noodles.
The soldiers then breathed a sigh of relief.
When Chi Qing entered the tent, Feng Shuo had just returned from the martial arts training ground.
In order to facilitate martial arts performance, he wore a set of light armor today, and his long hair was tied up with a jade hairpin. The silver armor made his eyes look even darker, and his phoenix eyes were raised at the corners, and he always looked at people with a cold gaze that made people dare not look directly at him.
If there is a flaw, it is probably his face. He is indeed as beautiful as a woman. Fortunately, his two sword-like eyebrows slanting into his temples instantly add a bit of heroic spirit.
Feng Shuo's appearance is like that of his mother, who was known as the evil concubine who brought disaster to the country.
There were even rumors in the palace that when Feng Shuo was twelve years old, a foreign prince came to visit the capital. He was shocked by Feng Shuo's beauty and thought he was a princess, so he begged the late emperor to grant him a marriage.
It is unknown whether this rumor is true or not, but Feng Shuo did kill a foreign prince who came to pay homage to him for some unknown reason when he was twelve years old. This angered the emperor and he was demoted to the army for five years.
He hates people making comments about his appearance.
During the time when the late emperor was seriously ill and unable to attend court, the eldest grandson of the emperor acted as regent. The ministers who supported the eldest grandson felt that the eldest grandson was now in power, so they mocked the late emperor for having a feminine appearance in the court. The late emperor then drew his sword and chopped off his head in the Golden Palace, shocking all the civil and military officials in the court.
Chi Qing had been under Feng Shuo's command for many years, so he naturally knew his likes and dislikes. He did not dare to glance at his handsome face for too long.
After finding a stool and sitting down, he asked while eating noodles, "How do you feel about training the 5,000 elite soldiers in the Xizhou camp today?"
When he came over, he had already seen the soldiers returning to the camp from the martial arts field to have dinner. They were so tired that they had to support each other as they walked back like dogs. He could roughly guess how cruel and inhumane Feng Shuo's training was.
Feng Shuo thought of those weakling soldiers, and his expression became even colder: "What a bunch of good-for-nothings! If the Northern Rong invade, they'll all be useless people waiting to be chopped to death!"
Chi Qing stuffed noodles in his mouth and said incoherently, "Didn't you expect this? After all, how could that old bastard Fan Wei really leave a team of elite soldiers for you?"
Feng Shuo frowned, he really couldn't stand the way Chi Qing ate. After all, he was his top aide, but he acted like he hadn't eaten in eight lifetimes. If outsiders saw it, they would probably think that he was mistreating his aides.
His good upbringing prevented him from saying anything to Chi Qing. He only said, "Tomorrow, have all the soldiers in the Xizhou camp train with the Liaonan Army."
"How can the soldiers in Xizhou camp compare with those you personally trained? With this kind of training method, the 100,000 soldiers in Xizhou camp will either be exhausted to death or they will all escape." Chi Qing began to snort, and the sound was really harsh to Feng Shuo.
Feng Shuo deliberately ignored his slurping sound and said coldly: "Didn't I say that I will let them train together in the future? At least let these good-for-nothings see the gap between themselves and others."
He couldn't just take over 100,000 stragglers and let this 100,000-strong army continue to be useless.
"Your Majesty is wise."
Chi Qing nodded in agreement, picked up the bowl and slurped the noodle soup.
The noodles made by Huotouying today were delicious, and the soup was rich and mellow, which pleased him very much.
Feng Shuo had been patient until now, and his patience had already run out. He picked up a military book from the table and threw it at him: "If you want to lick the bowl, get out and lick it clean before coming back."
Chi Qing quickly put down the soup and drank most of the bowl, muttering quietly, "The soup is delicious, and there's a lot of minced meat in it."
Feng Shuo glanced at him, and he immediately stopped complaining and began to talk about business honestly: "There are only five hidden spies found so far, and they have all been dealt with. Master Lu knocked on the steps in front of the emperor to plead for his son, which angered the emperor and he was punished to reflect on his mistakes behind closed doors. But the person you sent to show your goodwill, Master Lu didn't even let him in, and didn't accept his gift..."
Having said that, he looked at Feng Shuo cautiously.
But Feng Shuo looked calm, as if he had expected this to happen. He tapped his fingers on the table and said calmly:
"The Lu family has been prosperous for generations because of its loyal subjects. Now that the young emperor has touched the Lu family's legitimate son, it means that he has begun to suspect the Lu family. Perhaps the young emperor banished the Lu family's legitimate son to test Lu Mengxue's loyalty. Otherwise, why would he banish the Lu family's child to Xizhou?"
After Feng Shuo's guidance, Chi Qing instantly understood the key.
The eldest son of the Lu family was demoted to Xizhou. If the Lu family were sincere in expressing their loyalty, perhaps being ignored by the new emperor for a few months would allow the new emperor to test Mr. Lu's loyalty.
But once they send gifts, regardless of whether the Lu family accepts them or not, the new emperor's suspicious nature will only increase his suspicion of the Lu family. When one day their people stop sending gifts to the Lu Mansion, the new emperor will not think that they have given up, but will instead conclude that the Lu family has been bribed by them.
Feng Shuo's move was like the new emperor forcing the Lu family to side with them.
Even if Lu Mengxue is loyal and refuses to join forces with them, the new emperor no longer trusts the Lu family and will certainly do his utmost to suppress the Lu family. They are equivalent to forcing the new emperor to cut off one of his arms without firing a single soldier.
After thinking all this through, Chi Qing really admired you from the bottom of his heart. He sighed and said, "My Lord, with your wisdom, why would you need to keep counselors under your command?"
Feng Shuo glanced at him coldly and said, "Indeed, the stable is still short of a horse groomer. You can go over and groom the horses later."
Chi Qing: “…”
He was just trying to flatter someone, but why did he end up hurting himself
Chi Qing looked dejected, as if he had suddenly become a mute person who thought he was unlucky.
After Feng Shuo said "step back", he did not forget to pick up the bowl on the table. He drank the remaining noodle soup, then left the military tent with the empty bowl.
Feng Shuo's eyelids twitched as he watched.
When the guards took his breakfast out of the lunch box, Feng Shuo glanced and saw that it was also a bowl of knife-cut noodles. When he thought of Chi Qing's eye-catching eating habits, he lost his appetite.
He directly ordered: "Retreat, the king is not hungry."
This situation had happened before, and the guard didn't think much about it. He had just put the bowl of noodles back into the food box when he heard his master say, "Bring it here."
Guard: “…”
Well, his master is also starting to become capricious.
It wasn't that Feng Shuo suddenly wanted to eat again, but he remembered what the doctor said last night. He wanted to verify whether it was the dishes made by Huotouying that temporarily restored his sense of taste.
When the guards brought out the noodles, he saw the soft white noodles soaked in red oil, covered with a layer of fragrant and tempting meat sauce, and garnished with a few pieces of coriander. When he smelled the aroma, he actually felt a little hungry in his stomach.
Feng Shuo picked up a piece of noodles with ebony silver chopsticks and tasted it. It was spicy. The sliced noodles were chewier than ordinary noodles, and the wheat aroma in the noodles was more obvious. But after being coated with soup, the taste could only be described as mellow.
These flavors all sounded very light to Feng Shuo, but they were shocking enough for his tongue, which rarely felt any taste buds.
Is it true that the problem lies with the dishes made by Huotouying
Feng Shuo unconsciously tightened his grip on the chopsticks: "Which cook from Huotouying prepared today's breakfast?"
Fire Camp.
After breakfast, everyone has started to prepare ingredients for lunch.
Chef Li never came back after being sent to the military doctor. The fireman who carried him there said that Chef Li is still lying there with the military doctor, unable to get out of bed.
Jiang Yanyi was a little worried. Severe diarrhea would cause dehydration of the whole person. At Chef Li's age, his body might not be able to withstand such a torment.
The other chefs have worked with Chef Li in the kitchen for decades, so they are naturally worried about his safety. But the most difficult problem at the moment is that Chef Li can't cook. They can't find anyone to prepare the braised lion head dish that must be cooked at noon.
Tou'er Zhao was so anxious that he got blisters on his mouth. He sent someone to look for Liu Cheng, but learned that Liu Cheng had gone home after taking leave that day. It would take until the afternoon to go back and forth from the barracks to find him. How could he make it in time!
Some chefs also suggested going to a restaurant in a nearby town to buy a dish of lion's head to make up the number, but it would take too long to go back and forth on horseback. If they rode back on horseback, the packaged lion's head would be so badly shaken that would it still be served to the general on a plate
Just grab the chef from the restaurant and come over to cook on the spot. The Xizhou camp is not a circus troupe, outsiders are not allowed in.
Jiang Yan saw that Zhao Tou'er and the chefs were all very worried, so he asked, "Can't you just change the dish?"
Zhao Tou'er said: "If the dishes reported here are changed, I'm afraid our entire Huotou Camp will have to be replaced!"
The dishes that the Huotou Camp prepares for the generals every day will be listed one day in advance and sent to the generals' personal guards for review. The personal guards naturally know their generals' food preferences. If there is a dish they don't like, they will cross it out and ask the Huotou Camp to prepare a new one.
If the dishes delivered the next day are different from the previous list, no matter what excuse you have, it is a mistake and the chef responsible for that dish will be punished.
Especially since this dish is made for the general.
They just received the reward last night, and today they made such a big mistake. How ridiculous!
Jiang Yanyi realized the seriousness of the situation. Chef Li's sudden diarrhea today was definitely caused by someone on purpose. Perhaps the person behind the scenes wanted to use this opportunity to bring Chef Li down.
Jiang Yanyi thought of the favor that Chef Li had done for her, pursed her lips and said, "Maybe I can do it."
As soon as these words came out, all the chefs curled their lips and shook their heads.