Rêve de Jiangshan

Chapitre 132

Ru Feng then stopped looking at Wang Wei. For the past two days, Gao Wei had been constantly telling him not to oppose Wang Wei, lest it be detrimental to him. Ru Feng wasn't afraid of that, but thinking of the group behind him, he fell silent. He wasn't afraid of himself, but he had to consider their feelings. He couldn't let Wang Wei report them and ruin their reputations. After all, he was still a military supervisor and represented the Crown Prince's faction.

Thinking of this, Ru Feng smiled slightly at Wang Wei and then asked, "Supervisor Wang, you are mistaken. How can we know without trying? What do the other generals think?"

Ma Qingqiu and Lü Meng immediately nodded in agreement, Leng Weitian remained expressionless, and the others remained noncommittal.

Ru Feng breathed a sigh of relief. As long as someone agreed, then the matter was settled.

Ru Feng summoned the bored Zui Zhu and showed her the lyrics he had revised. He explained that he had been involved with the military in his past life, so he knew those military songs by heart.

"Senior brother, why do I need you to teach me so I can teach others? Why don't you just teach me directly?" Zui Zhu asked, puzzled. She was still chewing on a fruit when she complained, "Han Shan is so mean. This fruit isn't sweet enough. Next time, ask him to send a bigger, sweeter one."

Nanshan, who had been huddled in the corner reading, glared at Zuizhu upon hearing this, but received no response, not even a roll of his eyes, so he had no choice but to continue reading.

Ru Feng's face immediately turned red. For Zui Zhu's first half of the sentence, she gently punched Zui Zhu's arm and said, "You little rascal, you know that your senior brother has a loud voice, but he is tone-deaf. Aren't you making your senior brother embarrass himself in public? Besides, your voice is clear and pleasant, and you like to sing. You are better than me no matter what."

Zui Zhu covered her mouth and laughed, "Hehe, I almost forgot, Senior Brother is good at everything, except for rhythm."

Ru Feng snorted, "I'm a grown man, and a soldier at that. It's understandable and normal that I don't know those things." After thinking for a moment, he continued, "Actually, I do know a little bit. Back in the academy, someone taught me to play the xiao (vertical flute), and someone else taught me to play the qin (a seven-stringed zither)." Although his musicality wasn't great in the end, he could at least play a complete piece. As for playing the qin, Yun Tianze taught him to accompany him when he couldn't go out to play. Although he only learned the basics, his playing wasn't as ear-piercing as before.

Zui Zhu hurriedly asked, "Who is it? Who is so skilled that they can teach my senior brother to play the flute?"

Ru Feng couldn't help but smile slightly. Recalling the time at the academy, Yu Xuan had been very harsh on him, always saying that he had ruined the white jade flute, that such a fine white jade flute had produced such a terrible tune, and that it had even made him lose face.

Thinking of the white jade flute, Ru Feng subconsciously glanced at his backpack, where a white jade flute lay. He hadn't taken it out in a long time. When he first joined the army, he had carefully selected his luggage, and he had thought about that white jade flute for a long time before finally putting it in his backpack. The original owner of the white jade flute was Yun Tianze.

Thinking of Yun Tianze, Ru Feng's heart was filled with pain again. The happiness of the past seemed to have become a torment. Constantly recalling it would only cause her more pain. Now, he was not far away from her, and she and he were scheming against each other.

Perhaps in the end, I will survive, but he will be gone. Then there will never be anyone who looks at me so tenderly again, and then smiles gently when I play a wrong note, as radiant as spring flowers, exquisitely beautiful and captivating, with hands as perfect as white jade gently touching the strings, softly telling me the correct fingering.

Perhaps in the end, I will die while he lives.

The thought that she might die made Ru Feng's face wrinkle up. What would happen to Mu Wenchen if she left? They had just fallen in love, how could she bear to be separated so soon?

Seeing the look of longing on his senior brother's face, followed by pain, Zui Zhu was startled and quickly said, "Senior brother, I won't ask anymore, you can start teaching."

Ru Feng snapped out of her reverie, wiped her face, and forced herself not to think about these things. She then said softly, "It was a good friend who taught me. Okay, let's start singing."

It's said that Zui Zhu does indeed have a talent for music. Although she's carefree and always jumping around, finding joy in fighting, she's actually the best at music among the five of them, including Ru Feng. Back then, Wu Qing Jian, though a great swordsman who always seemed cold and aloof, would always play the flute or zither when he missed his wife, his voice mournful. At the time, except for Ru Feng, the other four listened intently, eventually finding a book on music among a pile of books and teaching themselves. As a result, Ru Feng was constantly surrounded by noise during that period, but Wu Qing Jian managed to endure it.

Recalling the past, a smile appeared on Ru Feng's lips, and the unpleasantness from before dissipated somewhat.

In the following days, Ru Feng found a few soldiers with good voices to learn from Zui Zhu, and eventually promoted it to the whole army. Various military songs with the characteristics of the Zi Luo Kingdom were played one after another, all to make the soldiers more patriotic, or rather, to vent their energy and prevent them from causing trouble.

Now, loud and resounding songs can often be heard in the barracks during training or in the evening. The soldiers' nightlife has also become more colorful. Occasionally, they can light a bonfire and play some games or sing songs.

Ru Feng walked around the military camp and looked at the soldiers' much more spirited faces. He couldn't help but sigh: "Actually, the soldiers really ask for too little! If it weren't for the greed of those in power, they might all be living well at home now, instead of enduring loneliness and the pain of possibly dying at any moment."

Gao Yueqi followed behind Ru Feng, while Zhou Qian kept a distance from them, silently following.

"Marshal, it seems this is very effective. These military songs are very grand and indeed suit the soldiers' thoughts." He insisted on calling Rufeng Marshal, and wouldn't listen to anything Rufeng said.

Ru Feng smiled slightly and said, "Let's not talk about that for now. Has Xiao Ying joined the Tiger Wing Camp?"

Gao Yueqi suddenly realized that the marshal had asked him to come for a walk because of this.

“Yes. He was originally a captain, but he was willing to join as a regular cavalryman. Given his abilities, I had no reason to refuse. However,” Gao Yueqi frowned and said, “Bai Shaojun is his superior. It seems he and Bai Shaojun have recently had a falling out. A few days ago, the two challenged each other and got into a fight.” Since Bai Shaojun agreed to it, it wasn’t exactly a private brawl; it was more like a challenge and instruction.

Ru Feng frowned upon hearing this: "Fighting with others casually is not in his nature."

Gao Yueqi nodded: "Yes, we've been classmates for over a year, and we've become quite close. I know his personality, and I thought that being so impulsive wasn't like him. You didn't see how fierce he was when he got into that fight!"

He shook his head and sighed softly.

Upon hearing this, Ru Feng immediately asked, "How is Bai Shaojun's skill now?" Bai Shaojun had always been against him, and the two rarely interacted now, so Ru Feng actually missed his disdainful looks. He really deserved a beating.

Gao Yue praised, "Very good. Although he is slightly inferior to Rong Yiying, his progress is obvious. Otherwise, he would not have become a captain in the cavalry department."

Ru Feng laughed and said, "That kid!" Ru Feng thought of Yang Wei, who had also made great progress. The military camp really made people grow up quickly.

While they were chatting, a soldier rushed in to report, and Ru Feng had no choice but to hurry back to the main tent.

Inside the tent, only Nanshan was there. When he saw Rufeng return, he hurriedly said, "Senior brother, you're here."

Ru Feng plopped down in his seat, looked at the intelligence report handed to him by Nan Shan, and couldn't help but frown after reading it.

The enemy is stirring again, and this time their target seems to be another small town. In addition, they have an army that appears and disappears mysteriously, always harassing the guards in various places, attacking briefly and then running away, as if toying with people.

Ru Feng frowned: "How could we not catch them?" He knew his men very well; any one of them could easily chase a bunch of people. Besides, they were making a fool of him, so the soldiers should be even more furious and work even harder. And they were infantry.

Nanshan replied, "I suspect it's the rattan armor they're wearing. I analyzed it, and the places they attacked all had a large river with a strong current. After each battle, they would cross the river. Strangely, their rattan armor doesn't absorb water, so not only can it not be cut by swords, but it can also not be penetrated by arrows. Crossing the river is very easy and effortless for them. On the other hand, our brothers are wearing heavy armor, which is cumbersome. They can't cross on horseback and have to go into the water themselves. Their clothes are also very heavy, which is why they escaped."

Gao Yueqi, who had followed them back, frowned and said, "Why haven't we heard of this kind of armor before?"

Rattan armor? Ru Feng thought for a moment. He seemed to remember seeing a kind of rattan armor. It seemed to be made of rattan woven into armor, then soaked in oil and dried. However... Ru Feng tapped his head. He had seen it a long time ago, when he was young, and it was from his previous life. Even with a good memory, there would always be things he forgot.

"Summon the generals immediately and think of a solution, so we don't waste our time here," Ru Feng said after a moment's thought.

Looking at the intelligence on the table, Ru Feng sighed inwardly, "Yun Tianze, you've finally started to take action!"

Volume Two: How Many Have Returned from Ancient Battles? Chapter 109: Turning the Tide

"Rattan armor?" Gao Wei muttered to himself, looking at the rattan armor that Ru Feng had placed in the middle. It had been stripped from an enemy soldier.

"Hmm." Ru Feng nodded and described its characteristics.

"It seems we need to subdue them as soon as possible. Look, in just one day, they've become so arrogant and injured so many of our brothers," General Sun said loudly.