Chapter 31: You’re not calling people, you’re hooked on souls!
The entire night, Yang Family Village was immersed in sorrow.
Even the atmosphere in Yang Zhengshan’s home was heavy with grief.
Although the Yang family members were all safe, the village had suffered many casualties, leaving everyone’s emotions in a difficult state.
The night passed in silence, and the next morning arrived.
Yang Mingzhi got up early to take over Yang Minghui’s patrol duties.
Although they had just experienced a battle, the village’s defense duties couldn’t be relaxed, and the necessary vigilance and patrols must still be maintained.
Fortunately, these tasks no longer required Yang Zhengshan’s personal attention, as Yang Mingcheng, Yang Mingzhi, and Yang Mingwu would take care of them together.
After breakfast, Yang Zhengshan was about to visit the wounded when Yang Mingzhi hurriedly returned.
“Father, the general from yesterday wants to see you!”
“What does he want?” Yang Zhengshan asked with a frown.
Yesterday, he didn’t let the border troops enter the village, only sending them hot water and food.
His attitude towards the border troops was slightly better than towards the Hu tribe, but he was still cautious.
Don’t think that the Da Rong army is just like their own people; in reality, many civilians have been killed by the Da Rong army’s brutal swords. Some bandits are more terrifying than mountain bandits and Hu riders.
“I don’t know, he’s waiting at the back of the village,” Yang Mingzhi replied.
Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment, then walked towards the back of the village.
When he arrived, he saw Zhou Lan directing over a dozen soldiers to transport many goods.
“A humble villager pays respects to the general!” Yang Zhengshan bowed.
“No need for formalities, kind sir. You’ve saved my life, and I’m grateful,” Zhou Lan replied with a bow.
Yang Zhengshan looked up at Zhou Lan, and his eyes widened in shock.
A woman!
Although they had fought side by side yesterday, he really hadn’t noticed that this general was a woman.
This didn’t surprise him, as Zhou Lan’s appearance was dirty and disheveled yesterday, making it hard to discern her true appearance. Plus, her voice was hoarse, similar to a man’s, so Yang Zhengshan had naturally assumed she was a man.
Seeing Yang Zhengshan’s stunned expression, Zhou Lan laughed and said, “Sir, you don’t know my identity, do you? I’m Zhou Lan, the commander of the Left Vanguard of the Prefectural Banner in Chongshan Town!”
Yang Zhengshan was stunned once again.
The Da Rong army had two systems: the Wei-Suo system and the recruitment system.
The Wei-Suo system referred to the establishment of military bases from the capital to the counties, with external supervision by the Metropolitan Prefecture Office and internal supervision by the Five Military Command Headquarters.
The recruitment system, on the other hand, recruited soldiers with strict standards, offering military pay, exemptions from labor services, and taxes.
The Wei-Suo system was a combination of farming and military service, while the recruitment system cultivated professional soldiers.
Border troops utilized both systems.
The outposts along the border were part of the Wei-Suo system, combining farming and military service.
The Prefectural Banner troops, however, were recruited, with five camps in Chongshan Town, each with 3,000 to 5,000 soldiers, all elite fighters.
In the past, the original body had joined the border troops through recruitment, relying on his martial arts skills to become a small soldier in the Prefectural Banner’s front camp.
So Yang Zhengshan was familiar with the Prefectural Banner troops.
The woman before him was actually the commander of the Left Vanguard of the Prefectural Banner!
The commander was usually a third-rank military officer, a senior officer.
Yang Zhengshan’s eyes widened in surprise.
This didn’t conform to the rules of the Prefectural Banner troops!
The troops followed the recruitment system, where the strong were respected.
Simply put, to hold a high position, one needed corresponding martial arts skills and strength.
The commander of the Left Vanguard should at least have reached the fifth layer of the Later Heaven stage of cultivation.
But this woman before him should only be at the second or third layer.
Yang Zhengshan could only think of two reasons for this situation: one was that the current Prefectural Banner troops were different from the ones in his past memories, so the rules didn’t apply. The other was that this woman’s background was extraordinary, allowing her to break some rules in the border troops.
Or perhaps both reasons were true.
But these didn’t concern Yang Zhengshan.
Yang Zhengshan thought for a moment, then bowed again, saying, “I pay respects to General Zhou!”
“Sir, you’ve saved my life, so please, don’t be formal. If you don’t mind, you can call me Yang older brother,” Zhou Lan replied.
Yang Zhengshan’s heart skipped a beat when he heard this.
What’s going on?
How can she call me older brother?
Although he had helped Zhou Lan greatly, it wasn’t enough to warrant such an intimate address.
This was a feudal society, and the boundaries between men and women were like a locked door, restricting all interactions. Even saying a word required utmost care.
It was the same in the village, and even more so in those aristocratic families, where strict rules were suffocating.
As for women joining the military, it wasn’t unheard of.
In a world where martial arts flourished, the military needed strong warriors, and many women were skilled in martial arts, so the military would inevitably have some female oddities.
These female oddities might be more lenient in some rules, but some rules still needed to be followed.
Calling him older brother right off the bat was breaching etiquette.
Yang Zhengshan wasn’t shocked because Zhou Lan had breached etiquette, but because her “older brother” sounded too warm and tender.
That voice was like a hook that pierced Yang Zhengshan’s heart.
Yesterday, this woman’s voice was as harsh as tearing a piece of cloth, but today, her “older brother” made Yang Zhengshan’s heart tremble.
Meow!
This woman has a problem!
It wasn’t that he thought her voice was pleasant, but it made him feel uncomfortable, and his skin crawled.
The “older brother” made Yang Zhengshan take a step back, gazing at Zhou Lan with a shocked expression.
Only then did he notice that Zhou Lan was quite pretty, with a goose egg face, large eyes, double eyelids, and delicate features, although her skin was a bit rough.
She was probably around thirty years old, and her figure… ah, it was hard to tell, as she wore a padded armor that concealed her body.
Ugh!
Was his gaze a bit skewed?
Yang Zhengshan quickly averted his gaze, smiling awkwardly at Zhou Lan, “General Zhou, let’s just stick to names, okay?”
Being called older brother made him uncomfortable.
The goosebumps were still there!
Zhou Lan’s face reddened, realizing her “older brother” might have been too intimate.
“Brother Yang!”
She intentionally roughened her voice, calling out again.
“Ah, much better!” Yang Zhengshan wiped the virtual sweat from his forehead.
Too embarrassing!
It’s not that I’ve never seen a woman before.
But your “older brother” really made me feel like I’m hooked on souls!
Zhou Lan’s face turned even redder.
“Cough, cough.” She lightly coughed, trying to alleviate the awkwardness, then pointed to the large pile of goods behind her, saying, “These are the spoils of war. The credits belong to you, and the spoils belong to us!”
Aiya, pretending to be weak is too fake, and now I’m embarrassed!
It’s all because of that damn cowhide, making me pretend to be weak, saying that being weak can make people feel close.
I’ve always said, I’m not a weak person!
Zhou Lan muttered to herself, pointing to the pile of goods on the mountain slope.
Yang Zhengshan didn’t know what she was thinking and looked up at the mountain slope, seeing the soldiers moving like ants, carrying a large amount of goods.
There were armor, clothes, weapons, bows, and arrows, as well as ten or so dead horses, all piled up together.
(End of chapter)
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