The pork butcher is smoother than a pig butcher!

Chapter 212 Good Eye for Insight

He was humiliated and then had to pay back one hundred taels of silver.

Young Master Zhao Rui has only lived for sixteen years, and he has never suffered such a great loss in front of outsiders (excluding the punishment from his own father and stepmother).

He was never a kind person to begin with, so why would he swallow this injustice in silence?
He immediately addressed his followers and other纨绔 (sons of wealthy and powerful families):

"Military texts say that knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle. Go out and find out everything. I need to know all about Madam Gan later, including the man she married!"

Throughout the afternoon, quite a few people inquired about the background and origins of Madam Gan.

When the news reached Deputy Commander Xiong's ears, he laughed triumphantly:
"Serves them right! A bunch of greenhorns, do they think this border town is Huaiqing Prefecture? Do they think all merchants will make exceptions for them? They've finally met their match, haven't they? They deserve to be taught a lesson!"

The messenger hesitated, then after a long pause reminded his commander-in-chief:

“The other boys are fine, but Zhao Rui is the Marquis’s eldest son by a concubine! The head of the Wu Yue Ni family is now clearly going to support the Marquis. I’m afraid the Marquis won’t be able to resist the pillow talk after he returns.”

Deputy Commander Xiong said nonchalantly:
“Those ancient families are now betting everything on whoever is strongest! They have to fetch grain themselves. Tell me, if it weren’t for Captain Gan, would those 600,000 shi of grain have been transported back? And this time when the Tatar army invaded, how much of a role did Captain Gan play?”

They were all the Marquis's trusted followers, so naturally they would follow his lead.

“You’re right! I heard these kids are asking all over town about Captain Gan’s abilities. We’ll naturally help Captain Gan spread the word so these kids know who they shouldn’t mess with.”

"Okay, let's do it that way."

How powerful are the skills of a stunningly beautiful woman?

The people sent out by the playboys spent an afternoon piecing together information and finally got a concrete picture of Captain Gan's abilities.

The attendant reported as follows:

"Young Master! The beautiful lady's husband's family was a century-old family in Daming Prefecture. They were implicated by the main family and exiled to Angmen Border City! This Zuo family is truly capable. They traveled three or four thousand miles and still had more than half of the journey left when they arrived at the border city."

The spoiled brats simply couldn't believe it:

"Her man was an exiled convict? Why didn't she divorce him before being exiled? How could he have the nerve to let such a beautiful woman be exiled three thousand miles away with him!"

"That beautiful woman is truly a loyal and affectionate person! The Gan family even followed their daughter to the border town. They have skills and cooking abilities, so they must love their daughter very much! If she were willing to divorce, we wouldn't be seeing her today!"

"I envy that man surnamed Zuo!"

Zhao Rui: "." What makes this man surnamed Zuo so lucky?
The second group of people reporting the news continued:
"Young Master, what I'm inquiring about is the great beauty at Jinzhou Pass! I heard that last year she went to the battlefield with a nine-month pregnant belly, and after killing hundreds of Hu people, she gave birth to her child that very night when she returned to the post station."

During her postpartum confinement, she was given a critical mission and, in a fit of rage, slaughtered thousands of elite soldiers of the Tatar Tumed tribe, as well as their leader, Sodo Khan!

The group of spoiled brats all gasped in shock:

"After hearing the news that Heping Pass had fallen and 100,000 Hu people had marched to Jinzhou Pass, Sister-in-law Ang was so frightened that she went into premature labor at seven months pregnant! Ang's poor nephew is still sickly, and Sister-in-law Ang has been bedridden for three months! They are both pregnant women, but the difference is too great, isn't it?"

"What are the soldiers guarding Jinzhou Pass doing? They actually sent that beautiful woman, who hasn't even finished her postpartum confinement, back to the battlefield!"

"She single-handedly took the lives of thousands of enemy soldiers? How much suffering must that beautiful woman have endured to hone such skills?"

I feel so sorry for her!

Zhao Rui: "." My father has never killed so many enemy soldiers in his entire life!
The third group reported:

"My lords, the news I've heard is even more incredible! This beauty is not only incredibly skilled in martial arts, but also extremely intelligent!"

It is said that merchants in Jiangnan tried every means to get the 600,000 shi of grain out of the civilian granaries in Haijin Town.

In the end, it was the beautiful woman who came up with a solution: exchanging grain with several important border towns. Only then were the 100,000 border troops in the border city able to have enough to eat! Moreover, the 1,000 soldiers she led left to garrison Haijin Town not only prevented a theft by bandits and villagers guarding the granary, but also helped these people make a small fortune!

The纨绔 (sons of wealthy and powerful families):
"Skilled in both literature and martial arts, and also wealthy—what an amazing general!"

"Jealous of that guy surnamed Zuo! His ancestors for eighteen generations must have been burning incense to Buddha every day!"

Zhao Rui: "."

I'd also like to know, which temple in Northwest China has the most efficacious Buddha?
Before the fourth group could even speak, their faces were already flushed with excitement:

"The information we've gathered is even more remarkable! Young masters, do you know why the Tatar army of 200,000 men was defeated and driven away in disgrace this time when they marched south?"

She's a stunning beauty!
The beautiful woman led the night watchmen to the grasslands to scout the terrain.

As luck would have it, the Tatar army had just left the northern desert, and she rode back that very night on the wild horse she had tamed on the grasslands, the Horse King, to inform Vice Commander Xiong and his men.

In order to ensure that the Five Guards of the Border City could win a decisive battle, she set up killing formations for the Tatar army along the way, and successively used the Frightened Horse Formation and the Trapped Horse Formation to lose half of the Tatar army's strength!

In the border town, the great beauty was called "Timely Rain" and "Jade-Faced Rakshasa Bringing Fortune" by the border soldiers and their families!

The young nobles were dumbfounded:
"A timely rain, a jade-faced Rakshasa bringing good fortune! This title is absolutely brilliant! It's a perfect match for the great beauty!"

"Luckily we didn't make a big fuss today, otherwise, even if she beat us half to death, the Marquis would probably praise her for the beating when he returned from suppressing the bandits!"

"You all think that, based on all the merits that this great beauty has accomplished, shouldn't the Marquis at least give her the position of a general?"

"The great beauty was implicated because of her husband's status as an exiled convict! If it were any other common soldier, he would have been promoted to captain or above long ago."

"."

It's not that spoiled brats are making a fuss.

In the past, although the Tatars in the southern desert harassed the border almost every year, each time they encountered and fought with the border troops, the casualties were only a few hundred.

There will be no large-scale war.

Unexpectedly, there have been many wars since the end of last year.

First it was Heping Pass, then Yulinwei; the entire city was frequently wiped out.

If it weren't for the fact that more than half of the prefectures in the Bei Kingdom are now occupied by refugees, where would the powerful families of Huaiqing Prefecture still be able to stay in the Northwest?

Not long ago, I heard that a Tatar army of 200,000 men had come to invade the pass.

Most of the elite troops of the Five Guards of the Border City have been withdrawn.

It would be a lie to say that I am not afraid.

The wealthier the family in Huaiqing Prefecture, the more afraid they were.

But when the news of the Tatars' withdrawal reached their ears, it was like heavenly music.

Unexpectedly, these things are related to a great beauty.

Their judgment is absolutely amazing!

(End of this chapter)