Catching Monsters

Chapter 286: Inheritance of Spirit
In his early years, Xu Dingwu was the biggest playboy in the capital. He gambled, worked in the Imperial Music Bureau, and spent his days eating, drinking, and having fun, and getting into fights, with his lackeys.

He can be said to be the pinnacle among the playboys. Xu Xiaogang is nothing compared to him.

In the capital, all the playboys, big and small, have been beaten by him. In this respect, his daughter Xu Suwen is quite like him.

I lived a life of drunkenness and dreams every day for who knows how many years.

His mother was quite worried about this, but his father was very indulgent. His father said that the heir of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion could enjoy the blessed days before entering the military camp, so let him enjoy it.

But one day, Xu Dingwu felt bored with such days.

When did it start?
Yes, it was his father’s body when it was sent back from the front line.

My father's body was full of arrows and he was killed by the rebel army.

At that time, Xiao Yuzheng had just ascended the throne, the throne was unstable, and there were signs of rebellion in various places.

Especially on the front line, Jianchi Pass was breached and the Zhenchi Army was defeated.

The Hu army was preparing to march straight into the capital, which was only two hundred miles away.

The young Xu Dingwu stood up. He went to the rear, gathered the remaining troops, and quickly raided the rear of the Hu people, slowing down their attack.

The battle lasted for a whole year, and the Hu people were defeated one after another.

This year, Xu Dingwu saw a world he had never seen before.

Wherever the Hu people plundered, they massacred cities and villages.

Corpses were scattered all over the ground, women and children were kidnapped, and men were executed in various painful ways.

All I saw along the way were piles of bones.

Only then did he understand the mission of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

It is not just a simple loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor, but also about protecting the border and keeping the people safe.

Since then, for nearly thirty years, Xu Dingwu has been guarding the northern border, and Jianchi Pass has never been breached again.

……

In the jungle, Xu Dingwu looked sullenly at Qi Xinyi.

Qi Xinyi looked at Xu Dingwu in confusion and said slowly: "I still don't understand the thoughts of you southerners. Even if you join the Northern Hu, you will enjoy endless wealth and glory."

"Why do you have to do this?"

Xu Dingwu always had a smile on his face. He said in a deep voice: "Once the 200,000-strong Hu army is wiped out, the northern border can at least be kept peaceful for more than ten years."

Qi Xinyi shook his head helplessly and said slowly: "What about more than ten years later? My Hu army will still march south."

"Ten years later? My son is still here."

"A hundred years from now, my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will still be here."

"It will be passed down from generation to generation."

"Even if everyone in my Zhenguo Mansion dies, there will be new people who stand up and resist the Hu people."

Xu Dingwu stared at Qi Xinyi and said slowly: "This is called inheritance of character and character, which is something that does not exist in the Hu people's culture."

Upon hearing this, Qi Xin was silent for a while, shook his head slightly, and then gently swung the sword in his hand.

Almost instantly, Xu Dingwu, who was standing in place, trembled slightly.

Then, a tiny blood stain appeared on his neck.

Afterwards, more and more blood gushed out of the wound.

Not only was there no fear of death in Xu Dingwu's eyes, but a relieved smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

His mission has been completed, and now it’s up to Xu Xiaogang.

He closed his eyes and his head fell to the ground.

Qi Xinyi walked slowly forward to Xu Dingwu's body, ready to reach out to take his head.

But the outstretched hand paused, hesitated for a moment, and then was retracted.

He stared at Xu Dingwu's head, hesitated for a long time, then waved his hand, turned around and flew away.

On both sides of the Lanwang River, the Zhenchi Army and the Hu army were now engaged in a tug-of-war battle.

The shouts and sounds of war drums resounded through the sky and could be heard from far away.

The central battlefield of Zhenchi Army.

There is a village near the central battlefield. Some of the houses here are used by Xu Xiaogang as a command base.

He stood in a room, looking at the map on the table. His men kept running in to report on the current situation.

The general situation of the entire battlefield was in Xu Xiaogang's mind. Xu Xiaogang kept issuing orders and instructing the cavalry to provide support in various places.

Cavalry was the Hu people's strong point, but now, the one thousand cavalrymen who were supposed to assist the Hu people had been led into the woods by Xu Dingwu, ambushed and killed.

The situation on the central battlefield was in the hands of the Zhenchi Army.

At this time, a messenger outside the house quickly ran in with a happy look on his face and said, "General, the Hu people blew the horn to retreat."

Xu Xiaogang took a deep breath and said in a deep voice: "Hold them and let the cavalry cover their retreat. We must do our best to kill these 30,000 people!"

"Yes."

Afterwards, Xu Xiaogang looked towards the direction of the ambush in the woods with some concern, not knowing what the situation was over there.

The battle lasted for nearly a whole day, until nightfall, when the Hu army finally escaped from the pursuit.

A big victory in the middle battlefield!

The ground was littered with the corpses of the Hu people and ordinary soldiers of the Zhenchi Army.

The bloody smell spread far and wide.

Sitting in the house and watching the night fall, Xu Xiaogang asked his men to quickly count the casualties and the situation of the other two groups of people.

Of the 20,000 men he led, about 5,000 were killed or wounded, and the Hu people probably suffered more than 10,000 casualties in this battle alone.

After hearing this summary, Xu Xiaogang's face showed a look of relief.

At this moment, a fast horse came from outside the house, and the door was pushed open: "Report to the general, the ambush in the woods was successful, and a full thousand cavalrymen were annihilated and were successfully intercepted and killed by us."

"Eight hundred war horses were also seized."

Xu Xiaogang showed a look of joy on his face, and then asked hurriedly: "Where are the enemy generals?"

"Enemy general." The soldier who sent the message had a complicated expression on his face, and then he said, "General, follow me."

The village is not big and is guarded by Xu Xiaogang's personal soldiers on all sides.

Xu Xiaogang quickly arrived at the entrance of the village, where there was a cart with a headless corpse on it and a head next to it.

It was Xu Dingwu's body.

"father."

Seeing this, Xu Xiaogang knelt on the ground and grabbed the corpse's hand tightly.

"General Xu." The soldiers nearby looked at him with complicated expressions. On the one hand, Xu Dingwu had led the Zhenchi Army for decades, and all the soldiers, from top to bottom, were grateful to Xu Dingwu.

But now, Xu Dingwu has surrendered to the enemy, and his body has been brought back, and they don’t know how to deal with it.

Xu Xiaogang held Xu Dingwu's already cold hand tightly, and saw the smile on Xu Dingwu's face before he died.

"Someone, send my father's body back to the capital."

Seeing this, the nearby soldiers' faces changed slightly and they hurriedly tried to persuade them.

"I will write to your Majesty."

Xu Xiaogang had a determined look on his face, and it was obvious that he had made up his mind. He took a deep breath and looked in the direction of the Hu army camp.

It depends on whether the Hu people’s food and fodder can be burned successfully.

……

At noon the next day, Xiao Yuzheng was sitting in the imperial study, holding a very long letter in his hand.

It was sent by Xu Xiaogang from the front line, and it first gave a detailed introduction to the results of this battle.

In the three-pronged battle, more than 10,000 Hu people were killed, including 1,000 cavalrymen, and the number of casualties was impossible to count.

Four thousand of their own men were killed and nine thousand were injured.

The most crucial thing is that although we sent people to attack at night yesterday and were discovered, we still burned one-third of the food of the Hu army.

All in all, this was considered a great victory, not to mention that the Zhenchi Army fought without the support of the Apocalypse Army.

Logically speaking, with Xiao Yuzheng's personality, he would of course laugh out loud happily.

But there is another message behind this.

Xu Dingwu is dead.

In the letter, Xu Xiaogang listed many things, such as Xu Dingwu brought intelligence about the Hu people and that his father did not defect to the enemy.

I hope Xiao Yuzheng can restore the title and reputation of Duke Xu Dingwu.

Of course Xiao Yuzheng knew that Xu Dingwu did not betray!

Because this was something he had instigated.

His thoughts went back to a night some time ago.

Xu Dingwu was summoned to the imperial study late at night. Xiao Yuzheng asked him, "Duke Zhenguo, we are old now. What should we do if the Hu army invades?"

"The bandit problem in the southwest is getting bigger and bigger, and corruption is rampant among officials at all levels. No matter how we punish them, it is ineffective."

"When you are still here, everything is fine. If something goes wrong with you one day, I am worried that Xu Xiaogang will not be able to shoulder the important responsibility..."

Hearing this, Xu Dingwu said in a deep voice: "What does your majesty mean?"

Xiao Yuzheng said: "I have a method that can ensure peace in the northern border for more than ten years, or even decades, but it requires the Duke of Zhenguo to take some risks."

Xu Dingwu asked without hesitation: "Your Majesty, please tell me, what method is it?"

"You just have to suffer some injustice."

……

In the imperial study, Xiao Yuzheng's eyes moved slightly and he sighed deeply: "Xu Dingwu, ah Xu Dingwu, you have worked hard."

Feng Yu, who was standing next to him respectfully, took a deep breath and asked in a low voice: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty..."

Xiao Yuzheng, who was somewhat dazed, came back to his senses and heard Feng Yu's reminder. He slowly put down the letter in his hand and said, "Send the order to restore Xu Dingwu's reputation and bring Xu Dingwu back to the capital."

"Yes." Feng Yu heard it, nodded slightly, and then sighed.

"Pick out some treasures immediately and send them to the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion to comfort Tao Yuelan. I will agree to any conditions you have."

"When Xu Dingwu returns, I will personally carry his coffin."

"Yes."

Soon, in the capital, there were gongs and drums, and many Jinyiwei took the initiative to post notices all over the city. Many Jinyiwei quickly rode out of the capital on horseback and rushed to various parts of the country to post notices across the country to restore Xu Dingwu's reputation.

Such a grand event made many people in the capital curious about what had happened.

They came forward to watch.

It would have been fine if they hadn't looked at it, but once they did, many people were shocked.

The notice clearly stated that Xu Dingwu, the Duke of Zhenguo, was loyal and pretended to surrender to the enemy in order to obtain intelligence about the Hu army...

In an instant, public opinion in Beijing was in an uproar.

Many of Xu Dingwu's friends had already distanced themselves from the incident, but upon hearing the news, they slapped their thighs and said, "I knew it couldn't be that simple! Old Xu was so loyal, how could he easily surrender to the enemy?"
The ones most affected were the various opera troupes, which deleted the play about the ten crimes of the treacherous minister Xu Dingwu that they had already rehearsed and written overnight, and quickly asked writers to write a play about the loyal and righteous Duke Zhenguo fighting against the northern Hu bandits.

(End of this chapter)