Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 257: Raising troops for a thousand days
Early in the morning, Zhang Bo got up early and practiced swordsmanship in the yard. After practicing a few sets of swordsmanship, he was already sweating from exhaustion.

Lu Zheng sat under the eaves, slowly eating a handful of peas while watching Zhang Bo practice swordplay.

Zhang Bo held the sword and looked at Lu Zheng. He slowed his breathing and said, "It's been a long time since I played sword in front of Brother Lu. I hope Brother Lu can correct me."

"Easy to say."

Lu Zheng dropped a pea into his mouth and said, "Feel it carefully."

As soon as Lu Zheng moved, a sharp sword intent surged towards Zhang Bo like a great river tide.

Zhang Bo's expression changed slightly, and he quickly released his own literary energy to resist.

"Sword Intent!"

He was shocked and couldn't help but try his best to resist this powerful sword intent.

After just a few breaths, I was already sweating profusely.

Seeing that Zhang Bo could not hold on any longer, Lu Zheng slowly put away his sword intent.

Zhang Bo felt the pressure on his body relieved. He stood there with his eyes closed, recalling the sword suppression he had just experienced. It took him a while to come back to his senses.

He looked at Lu Zheng and sighed, "I didn't expect Brother Lu to be a genius in swordsmanship. He has actually cultivated sword intent. The gap between Brother Lu and me is really getting bigger and bigger."

Thinking of this, Zhang Bo couldn't help feeling complicated.

He has worked very hard, but there are people who are much better than him and work even harder than him, which makes him feel extremely stressed.

Lu Zheng smiled slightly and said, "Brother Zhang, don't always compare yourself with others. As long as you are better today than you were yesterday, that's something to be happy and proud of."

Zhang Bo took a deep breath and said, "Brother Lu is right."

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Let's take a break. Do you want to eat some beans?"

Lu Zheng reached out and grabbed a handful of peas.

Zhang Bo wiped his hands, took the beans, and sat next to Lu Zheng.

The two grown men sat under the eaves, chewing on the crispy beans, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.

"These peas are quite delicious. How do you make them?"

Zhang Bo looked at the peas in his hand. They tasted good and a bit complex.

"Oh, fried Qingwan, with some extra ingredients."

Lu Zheng gave a brief explanation.

"Hmm? Uh..." Zhang Bo was stunned for a moment, "Is Qingwan okay?"

Lu Zheng said with a smile: "It's okay, I'm sleeping soundly!"

Lu Zheng paused, then continued, "Brother Zhang, you should be preparing to become an official, right? When will you leave Hongzhou City?"

Zhang Bo heard this and said, "According to previous years, the appointment letter would be issued at the end of August, and the appointment would be in October. There was a month of preparation time in between, but I rushed over as soon as I got the appointment letter... I don't even know where I will be assigned."

Lu Zheng asked curiously, "Brother Zhang, don't you have relatives in the court? Can't you get the news in advance?"

"Well..." Zhang Bo lowered his voice and said, "I'm not sure either, but my elders once said to try to find a good position for me. But I really want to go to some remote prefectures and counties so that I can make more achievements."

"That's even more dangerous." Lu Zhengdao.

Kaiyang County is not a very remote county.

Some places are too remote, lawless, demons and ghosts are rampant, the people are living in misery, and even officials dare not leave the city at will.

Zhang Bo grinned and said, "Brother Lu is not afraid of anything. Although I am not as good as Brother Lu, I am not afraid either. Besides, if I were really assigned to a place like that, my family would definitely send someone to protect me, so it wouldn't be a big problem. It's just that I may not be able to see you often in the future."

Zhang Bo looked at Lu Zheng, "What about Brother Lu?"

"Me?" Lu Zheng smiled slightly. "The world is so big, I can go to many places and see more of the world. In a few days, I should leave Hongzhou and visit other places."

"So urgent?" Zhang Bo asked in surprise.

Lu Zheng said leisurely, "Hongzhou City wasn't my final resting place. I'm just stopping here temporarily. I wonder how many people will applaud me when I leave!"

Zhang Bo said softly, "Some people won't let it go. Brother Lu needs to be careful."

Lu Zheng threw a pea into his mouth and said confidently, "They probably don't have that chance anymore. They couldn't kill me before, and it's even more impossible in the future. Besides, some families are already busy with their own affairs for a while..."

……

Outside the city, dust was flying on the wide road.

A pack of wolves as tall as horses came galloping towards them with great momentum.

And on the backs of each giant wolves were armored soldiers.

Behind the wolf soldiers, there were some other people, all wearing armor and even masks, but they could not conceal the strong murderous aura.

When some people on the road saw this, they were so scared that they avoided the road in the woods, fearing that they would bump into this group of people.

Some people looked at it with a mixture of timidity and curiosity.

On the city wall, a city guard saw this scene and quickly notified the people below.

Before the troops approached, the leading wolf soldier spoke in a voice as loud as a bell, "We are the personal guards of Governor An. Open the city gates!"

As he spoke, a jade token flew out, and a line of text floated in the air.

At this time, an armored soldier walked out of the city and said, "It's one of us. Open the gate a little wider."

The city guards breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

They thought something big had happened because the group of people who came were actually the personal guards of Governor An.

He is truly worthy of being a descendant of the royal family. These guards and mounts are extraordinary.

The provincial governors and governors in the past did not have such a grand personal guard.

The soldier approached and said, "When you enter the city, control your mounts. If you run into the civilians, the Lord will not forgive you!"

The group slowed down and then entered Hongzhou City, full of momentum and attracting attention. ...

"call……"

An Dingyuan twisted his neck and instructed his subordinates, "We've almost finished the cases we can handle. Let some people go back and rest so they can take over during the Mid-Autumn Festival... By the way, how are the arrangements for the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration going?"

The official replied, "We are planning it, but judging by the situation, many families will not participate, so we can't invite many people."

"Oh, you're not going to participate? I don't want to invite them. They can come or not, I don't need them to save face." An Dingyuan knocked on the table and said, "This matter must be done well. We can't lose face for the government. Wait a minute, I'll go to discuss it with you..."

Su Ming next to him said, "Mr. Lu said that we should put the people first and enjoy life with them. We don't need to care about those people."

An Dingyuan nodded and said, "Sir, you must not only listen carefully to what you say, but also do it seriously. Do you understand?"

Upon hearing this, all the officials responded in unison.

Those present were all close associates of the two officials, and no one dared to say anything wrong.

A bailiff came hurriedly and said, "Sir Governor, your personal guards have arrived and are waiting outside."

"Hey, you came pretty quickly."

An Dingyuan turned to look at Su Ming and said excitedly, "Come on, Lord Su, go meet my people."

Su Ming was curious, so he followed An Dingyuan out.

When I came outside, I saw a group of wolf soldiers and iron cavalry.

An Dingyuan rubbed his hands excitedly and chuckled, "These are my Wolf Guards and Armored Guards... It took me a lot of effort to gather these twenty wolves."

In order to save his situation, he called in all his best talents.

Su Ming took a look and commented, "He has a murderous aura, and is not inferior to the elite soldiers in the army."

"Really? My personal guards, how could they be any worse?"

An Dingyuan was proud. He knew that Su Ming had been on the battlefield before, so even though this evaluation was a bit flattering, it made him very happy.

An Dingyuan put his hands behind his back and said leisurely: "It takes a thousand days to raise an army, but only a moment to deploy it. You..."

An Dingyuan gave some instructions and then only left a few wolf guards by his side, while the others either went to help with patrolling or to rest.

……

"The 50,000 copies of the book have been distributed, and the bookshop is still printing..."

Ruyu found Lu Zheng and came to report the situation.

Lu Zheng flipped through the new book and smiled, "Miss Ruyu is really decisive in her work."

Ruyu smiled and said, "How dare I delay the task entrusted by Master Lu? It is my great honor to be able to publish such a book myself."

"It's a masterpiece that has been passed down through the ages. Unfortunately, someone originally gave it to the government, and it hasn't been returned to me yet."

As she spoke, Ruyu revealed a hint of resentment.

"Uh……"

Lu Zheng couldn't help but laugh and said, "Then I'll give you one as compensation?"

Ruyu said quickly, "I dare not trouble Master Lu to write a book for me."

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "Forget it then."

"Hey?"

Ruyu was stunned. She didn't expect Lu Zheng to respond so straightforwardly. If she had known, she wouldn't have been so hypocritical...

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "It's just an enlightenment book. I don't think you will read it often. I am not talented, but I just barely got into painting. How about I draw a portrait for you as a token of my gratitude?"

Ordinary thank-you gifts are too vulgar. If I give a cultural relic, since the other party is a fairy, it is probably not easy for him to observe it often, so he can only take it back and keep it in the bottom of the box.

If you draw a portrait as beautiful as jade, the other party will look at it more.

After all, the aura of the person in the painting is somewhat similar, so it won't have much impact.

"Okay!"

Ruyu nodded repeatedly, not daring to make any more pretentious excuses, "Sir, wait a minute."

Ruyu rubbed her face, and her appearance changed immediately, becoming more charming and beautiful, looking about 70% similar to before.

Ruyu whispered, "Master Lu, you won't blame me for not showing my true face, right?"

Lu Zheng smiled lightly, "That's too much. Women look very different with and without makeup. This isn't a big deal for a girl. At least I can still recognize she's the same person."

"Really?"

Ruyu blinked, she didn't expect Lu Zheng to understand such things.

Lu Zheng said no more and took out pen and paper to start painting.

Ruyu watched Lu Zheng painting with charcoal and suddenly felt a little curious.

Soon, lifelike portraits of the characters emerged.

Lu Zheng lightly tapped the person in the painting, and the paper suddenly glowed with light.

Ruyu felt an inexplicable resonance in her heart, and her own aura emanated from it, blending into the painting, making it more realistic and vivid.

The painting responds to the subject, and this is not a realm that can be forced into the art of painting.

Ruyu was very surprised when she saw this.

Lu Zheng picked up the painting and handed it to Ruyu, "Well, I didn't expect that the girl was actually... a rabbit."

The aura that was emitted just now allowed Lu Zheng to detect a hint of abnormality and identify Ruyu as a rabbit spirit.

(End of this chapter)