"Can we take things seriously? Don’t just go around wanting to kill someone!"
Shen Fa said with a headache, "You’re not invincible in the world yet!"
Yang Ge: "Then should I train until I’m invincible before going to kill him?"
Shen Fa: "You weren’t so reckless in the past..."
Yang Ge: "Back then even you could handle me, can you still do it now?"
Shen Fa: "Let’s stick to the matter at hand, no dredging up the past!"
Yang Ge: "Just answer the question, will you!"
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Shen Fa: "When two countries go to war, is killing a few people really going to solve anything?"
Yang Ge: "Isn’t it straightforward? Whoever is the problem, I’ll kill them. Once nobody is left to create problems, won’t there be no problems anymore?"
Shen Fa scratched his head, feeling there was some sense in what he was saying, yet something seemed off.
After a long while, he said wearily, "Let’s think this through long-term. Given your sensitive position, it’s better not to act hastily. With you at Lu Ting, the capital remains stable as Mount Tai; no demons or monsters can get past..."
Yang Ge: "That indeed is true, but why do I feel like you make me out to be some kind of watchdog for your court?"
Shen Fa glanced at him and scoffed: "Drama queen!"
Yang Ge: "You curse again!"
Shen Fa immediately changed the subject: "The auxiliary army from Dongying, which was assembled over the past month, has begun its deployment to Liaodong. They are being divided into four groups, sent to the garrisons at Liaodong, Jizhou, Xuanfu, and Datong, nominally as auxiliary troops but basically as laborers, to repair the Great Wall and beacon towers across the regions. According to your wishes, as long as they’re not dead, they should be worked to death... I’ve already arranged everything; another ten thousand auxiliary troops will be secretly sent to Lü Mountain. Their ships are small and easy to maneuver, and since they’re outsiders, their lives are expendable, hopefully, they can be somewhat useful."
Yang Ge, with a stern face, said: "Familiarity aside, I’ll still sue you for defamation! What do you mean my Dongying auxiliary army? I have nothing to do with Dongying, not even a copper coin’s worth of relations; if there is any relation, it’s enmity!"
Shen Fa quickly said: "Yes, yes, yes, my mistake, just a slip of the tongue, okay?"
Yang Ge’s expression finally softened: "This isn’t a one-time transaction; we need to devise a sustainable system to continuously bleed Dongying and drain all their able-bodied people!"
"Also, the generals commanding the auxiliary armies at the four garrisons must be properly instructed: one, they cannot be soft-hearted; two, they must not let these Dongying dogs contaminate our noble bloodline. If they can be useful, put them to use; if they can’t, send them in batches to Lei Heng—better to have them all die off than to breed a threat!"
Shen Fa widened his eyes in astonishment: "What exactly is your grudge with Dongying? You’ve taken it this far, and you still aren’t planning to stop!"
Yang Ge’s eyes bulged even more: "Let me tell you, I’d let smaller issues slide with a beating, but if you dare be vague with me about this one, don’t blame me for disowning you!"
Shen Fa said helplessly: "I was just asking casually, what’s the rush?"
Yang Ge: "If even you think this way, wouldn’t the military commanders on the frontier start treating the auxiliary army like royalty?"
Shen Fa hurriedly responded: "Alright, alright, don’t get worked up. I’ll write to the commanders at the four garrisons, pick some competent people from Wei’s troops, have them keep the books and cross off anyone who dies, alright?"
Yang Ge: "That’s more like it... Once the auxiliary army gets to the frontier, send a reliable person to Dongying to bring Zhou Fu back, get him stationed at the frontier. He’s a capable officer; we can’t have him wasted in Dongying."
Shen Fa: "Aren’t you thinking too highly of your brother? Can he just decide on military deployments?"
Yang Ge: "If you can’t do it, I’ll find someone who can!"
Shen Fa, scratching his head vigorously, cursed inwardly: ’You’re really an ancestor come to life! Not even the emperor is as high-handed as you!’
Having no way to deal with this brute, he could only reluctantly say: "Alright, I’ll do what I can and let you know whether it works out."
Yang Ge: "Don’t sell yourself short; you are the grand Commandant of the Imperial Guard. Such a small task should be easy for you, shouldn’t it?"
Shen Fa, hearing the eerily familiar phrase, felt very much annoyed.
He didn’t want to discuss serious matters anymore, so he asked instead: "Got anything to eat? I’m starving."
Yang Ge wanted to tell him to beat it, but seeing his almost pitiful state, he couldn’t quite bring himself to do it: "Only cured meat."
Shen Fa beamed: "That’s fine, I’m not picky."
Yang Ge sighed and went to wash his hands: "Alright then, I’ll go make it."
The two of them and a dog went back to the front yard.
Shen Fa, making himself at home, went straight into the inner room to dig out tea leaves and a teapot, brewed himself a big pot of hot tea, and then, holding the teapot, blissfully lay down in a rocking chair under the grape arbor...
Yang Ge, tying on an apron, went into the kitchen, efficiently started a fire for cooking... saying it was only cured meat, he still walked around the kitchen twice, then went to the backyard, killed a chicken and stewed it.
The result was that no sooner had the chicken soup in the casserole begun to simmer than snoring, loud as thunder, started drifting into the kitchen.
...
"Please, Grand Eunuch Wei, enjoy this cup to the full!"
At the Yang Family of Fengyang, within the Lotus Pond Pavilion, Yang Yinghao held up a cup of wine with both hands, his face beaming as he gestured to Wei Heng.
Wei Heng also smiled brightly, lifting his cup in response to Yang Yinghao: "I couldn’t possibly refuse an invitation from Yang..." Cheers!
"Cheers!"
Both raised their heads and drank the wine in one go.
"Hahaha, Grand Eunuch Wei is truly a kindred spirit, a pity we met so late, a real pity!"
Yang Yinghao set down his wine cup, laughing heartily as he picked up the wine jug to pour Wei Heng another cup, then using serving chopsticks, he added a braised lion’s headball to Wei Heng’s bowl: "This is my wife’s specialty; please, try it."