"Li, we’re family here, no need for formalities. What’s this trip up north really about?"
Jiang Kui’s face flushed, fingers running through the liquor in his beard, slapping Li Jincheng’s shoulder powerfully, "Don’t beat around the bush with those calm thoughts, even though we three brothers have lived away from the central plains, news of the martial world still reaches our ears. If there’s something going on, don’t go round in circles, just speak frankly, whether it’s men or blades you need, it’s all trivial; once we finish this drink, we three will head south with you, trample those robbers challenging your Lianhuan Fort..."
Liu Meng whispered, "It’s Jinfanwu!"
"That’s not important!"
Jiang Kui banged the table, waving his hand, "Whether it’s Jinfanwu or Jinfan Pirates, anyone daring to set foot on our Lianhuan Fort’s territory, it’s not about agreeing, but whether to slice them into a hundred pieces or grind them to mince for dogs, you just say the word, brother, and we’ll handle it!"
Across the table, Lei Heng lifted his drink and nodded, "The wording is rough, but the sentiment is spot on!"
Li Jincheng wiped the spittle from his face, pondering whether the bandit air of his second brother came from these three.
"The loyalty of you three elder brothers, Jin Cheng remembers it in his heart!"
He bowed all around with a bitter-sweet smile, "However, the slight scrimmages between my Lianhuan Fort and Jinfanwu needn’t trouble you three..."
"Bang."
Jiang Kui, with a smack that made the dishes on the table jump, then glaring fiercely asked, "Do you look down on your brothers?"
Li Jincheng hastily bowed, "Not at all, that’s not what I meant... Hey, we’re all family here, let me be frank, if anything I say comes off wrong, don’t take it to heart, elder brother."
"Let’s talk about this conflict between our Lianhuan Fort and Jinfanwu, it seems heated but to quell them, we don’t even need the second brother’s involvement; Yang and Xiang, just send any two among us, and they’d be flattened overnight!"
"The reason I’ve kept Jinfanwu at bay with slow counterattacks is partly to prove ourselves, and to let those under me prove themselves, to stand tall and proud."
"As brothers of equal standing, having weathered storms of blades and arrows together, if we constantly rely on them, they might not look down on me, but I’d start looking down on myself. How could we maintain such a friendship in the long run?"
"I don’t have many friends, and they don’t either; we all hope this bond persists to future generations, not just for Lianhuan Fort’s sake, but also not to spoil our brotherhood of four."
"This trip north has no other purpose; recently, Er Yong often mentioned you elder brothers, saying it’s tough for you in Liaodong flagging, with more batches of Dongying servant troops arriving soon, necessities would be scarce soon with the steppe tribes stirring the pot again, and the imperial court will likely control border trade soon. We need to figure out a way to send some supplies before winter or it’s going to be a tough season... "
"And since it’s just about to be winter, I thought I’d better hurry to see what you need, so we can prepare on our end and try to deliver them before winter hits, preventing a harsh winter..."
"Also, Er Yong suggested sending the elderly, women, and children behind the barrier while possible; if Liaodong can’t accommodate them, follow our ships south, and we’ll figure out a solution. Once fighting breaks out, sending people over will be troublesome, and having to worry about the vulnerable back home would make it harder for you to fight against the tribes!"
The trio at the table stared blankly at Li Jincheng, their minds unable to comprehend this twist... as if a huge pie had fallen from the sky and knocked them out!
Watching their unfocused eyes, Li couldn’t help but wave his hand in front of Jiang Kui and Lei Heng.
Jiang Kui suddenly snapped back to reality, grabbing Li Jincheng’s hand, asking incredulously, "Is what you said true?"
Lei Heng also couldn’t help but ask, "What’s Yang Erlang after doing all this?"
It wasn’t impolite; living most of his life, he’d never encountered such people, such deeds...
"After what?"
Taken aback by the question, Li Jincheng paused and then suddenly laughed, somewhat defiantly.
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He saluted again, "Forgive my directness, if it’s harsh, don’t hold it against me... I think you might have been at the border too long, utterly unaware of what the name ’Yang Erlang’ represents in the martial world of the north and south, across all of Wei!"
"If Yang Erlang merely speaks up, even splitting territories to crown kings, the emperor would likely agree a thousand times over!"
"If he speaks up, the seat of the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch in the north and south martial worlds would be theirs for the asking!"
"If he wanted to be emperor, if he’d stayed in Dongying initially, who could have challenged him?"
"What could he possibly want from you three elder brothers?"
"To put it more bluntly, what do you three have that he could possibly covet?"
"Power? Money? Land? Or martial skills, beauties?"
"He simply wishes for his old friends to live a bit better; he just hopes everyone in the world could live a bit better...."
"You might not consider him significant, but Yang truly regards you as half a master."
He implied for the three brothers not to take his words to heart.