"Trouble you, Madam Liang. Serve Grand Academician Yuwen and Censor Zhao first! They are old, civil officials, and their bodies are weak."

"As you command, Your Majesty..."

"Please, Your Majesty, you go first..."

"Help yourselves!"

In the central army tent, or rather, the main hall of an inn, Madam Liang, Han Shizhong's wife, who looked barely over twenty and had hastily gotten dressed, was personally serving rice and dishes to Official Zhao, acting like an innkeeper who had encountered esteemed guests.

Official Zhao, dressed in a round-collared red robe with a jade belt, sat at a makeshift table in the center of the hall with several purple-robed, red-robed, and mountain-pattern-armored accompanying civil and military officials, having a late-night meal, looking like guests who had roused the inn's porter in the middle of the night to order food and lodging.

Of course, it would have been even more convincing if there weren't so many armored soldiers inside and outside the inn, and so many curious officers and soldiers from Han Shizhong's army craning their necks to get a look at the novelty.

But at this point, they couldn't worry about so much. Poor Official Zhao had held a bowl of rice for a long time, only taking one bite before setting it down. Everyone else was in a similar state, having been on the move since morning without anything to eat or drink, how could they not be hungry, tired, and thirsty?

Moreover, now that Han Shizhong had personally led troops to Baichi Town to quell the rebellion, and the messengers sent there to inform him had already departed, only Madam Liang was left to host in the inn, and a deputy commander named Huyan Tong was leading troops to guard the area. Apart from eating, drinking, and waiting for news, these courtiers and officials seemed to have nothing to talk about and nothing to do... Actually, Zhao Jiu had wanted to gossip with the well-mannered Madam Liang about some legendary stories, but Official Zhao had been out of the well for several months now, and he knew the basic customs of society and the army. Although Han Shizhong had a reckless temper and allowed his wife to serve in public, Zhao Jiu didn't want to pry, lest some indecent rumors spread.

However, even if they could only sit there eating and drinking, the civil and military officials in the hall, including Madam Liang, who already knew the whole story, and Huyan Tong, all felt that Official Zhao was truly bold and composed... He really had the aura of a ruler!

He was just as impressive as Liu Bei and Cao Cao in those tales of the Three Kingdoms!

Actually, whether he had the aura of a ruler or not was unknown, but Zhao Jiu's boldness and composure were definitely real, because even his eating and speaking were full of vigor. From Official Zhao's perspective, this meal might have been the most relaxed and unrestrained one he had eaten in months.

Why?

Wasn't it because this was Han Shizhong's central army inn!

So, we still need to talk more about Han Shizhong.

It is said that Han Shizhong, courtesy name Liangchen... uh, this courtesy name must have been given after he rose in the ranks. Most of the time, everyone called him Rogue Han the Fifth. This man was born in Yanan Prefecture, Yongxing Military Circuit of the Great Song Dynasty (now Suide County). He was thirty-nine years old this year. Possibly due to his background in the border state army and his family circumstances, he was a natural rogue, lawless from a young age. Because of his innate strength and the martial arts he had practiced since childhood, he was the kind of rogue that couldn't be controlled.

However, this fellow was undoubtedly a natural-born general. Up to now, this general with a rich life experience and twenty years of military service had accumulated the following, but certainly not limited to, various miraculous achievements:

When he was a teenager rogue in Yanan Prefecture, he almost beat a fortune teller to death with one punch, which seemed even more impressive than a certain Flower Monk beating the Lord of the West Gate to death with three punches... And the reason for this was that the 'West Gate Diviner' had told Rogue Han the Fifth's fortune, saying that Master Han had extraordinary bones and might reach the level of the Three Dukes in this life, becoming a deputy national leader, which made Brother Han the Fifth, who didn't even know where his next meal was coming from, feel mocked;

In his twenty-sixth year, after eight years in the army, but still serving as the lowest-ranking officer in the Western Army, this fellow single-handedly broke into the enemy's central army tent, killed the Xia prince who was supervising the army on the opposite side, and then triggered a complete collapse of the entire Xia army;

In his thirty-third year, having risen to the ranks of assistant general and junior officer, he participated in the campaign to suppress Fang La, first using himself as bait to annihilate Fang La's main force, and then personally leading people to sneak into the cave where Fang La was hiding and capture him;

In his thirty-eighth year, the Jingkang Incident began with the Alliance on the Sea, the main force of the Song army completely collapsed, and the saying that ten thousand Jin soldiers were invincible spread throughout the country. In the same year, while patrolling the Hutuo River, he encountered two thousand Jin cavalry with fifty riders, using decapitation tactics to eliminate the enemy officers and force the army to retreat;

And in the winter of the same year, the Northern Song Dynasty actually entered the process of destruction, and Hebei was effectively occupied. Han Shizhong, who had drifted to Zhao Prefecture, was besieged in the city. As a result, he used the heavy snow to climb down on ropes and raid the enemy camp with a hundred armored soldiers, killing the Jin army commander and successfully lifting the siege!

It is said that with such achievements and such qualifications, anyone with a bit of brains could probably see that this was a person like a famous general of ancient times, a natural-born general destined to be recorded in history. In fact, Zhao Jiu, when talking with those palace guards, everyone, no matter where they were from, almost knew the great name of Rogue Han the Fifth, knowing that this was one of the top heroes in the army, and his various legends had long been spread throughout the army.

However, another fact was that Han Shizhong, who had been in the army for twenty years and had so many miraculous achievements, was finally able to rise to the position of commander entirely because he had wandered around Hebei and happened to meet Zhao Laojiu with a group of soldiers, getting a share of the merit for supporting the new emperor!

Otherwise, he might still be a famous commander in the world!

Back then, the incident of killing the Xia supervising prince was known to everyone in the Western Army, but as the news was reported up layer by layer, it finally reached the Western Army commander Tong Guan, who hadn't even thought about managing Youyan at the time. What kind of person was Chancellor Tong? How could he be deceived by such an absurd thing? Therefore, this achievement was cut in half and then in half again, and finally simply erased. Han Shizhong was only promoted by one rank.

There was also the matter of Fang La, a earth-shattering achievement, but it was taken away publicly by a superior named Xin Xingzong. This matter was witnessed by many people and they privately complained about it, so it became even more widely known.

As for the Jingkang Incident that later started with the Alliance on the Sea, Han Shizhong, as a mid-level officer, had been in the thick of things from the beginning of the campaign against Liao. Although he was incredibly strong, he could only drift along with the tide, so no one gave him a promotion.

It was really because of Zhao Laojiu's ascension to the throne that he was able to become the current commander of the Imperial Guard's Left Army, becoming a top-ranking military officer with real power, thanks to his merit in supporting the new emperor. And because of his later merit in suppressing rebellions, he had just been promoted by Li Gang to the title of Duke of Dingguo (an honorary title for military officers), and from then on could be called Grand Commandant Han!

However, it seems we have to come back to the point. Grand Commandant Han had only been in office for half a month, and wasn't he rebelling again?

Didn't you see Madam Liang carefully and personally serving the dishes? Didn't you see Han Shizhong himself running out anxiously to put on his armor with his big hairy legs?

What was it all for?

Returning to the present, after Han Shizhong left in a panic, Zhao Jiu took the initiative to ask for a meal. Then Madam Liang had the kitchen start the fire again. After the meal was prepared, the group of people and the hundred riders watched Official Zhao finish his late-night meal unrestrainedly and then slowly drink his tea... While admiring him in their hearts, they didn't expect that a commotion suddenly broke out outside the town, and it was Commander Han who had returned!

"Your Majesty!"

The burly Han Shizhong, clad in armor and holding a weapon, dropped his weapon before the hall, bringing a gust of cold wind and a bloody smell into the hall. Then he bowed his head and saluted. "Let Your Majesty know, that rebellious villain has been personally executed!"

As he spoke, a junior officer presented a bloody head, bowing before Han Shizhong so that everyone in the hall could see it clearly.

As for the others, not to mention those in the military, even Grand Academician Yuwen Xuzhong, Zhao Ding, Zhang Jun, three civil officials, and even Madam Liang, only glanced at it with gritted teeth and remained indifferent. Zhao Ding even snorted coldly, clearly recognizing the head. Only Zhao Jiu, Official Zhao, who had been sitting still and had made so many people feel that he had the qualities of a ruler, was shocked in his heart and quickly picked up his teacup, swallowing a mouthful of warm tea to cover up his reaction... It could only be said that this time he finally didn't lose his composure on the spot.

"How was it quelled?"

The head was really frightening. Zhao Jiu put in a lot of effort to learn from the others to avoid looking directly at it, but he couldn't get up and approach Han Shizhong like Liu Bei had planned, so he just sat still.

"Your subject led the army to Baichi Town, and when we were ten li away, he didn't make a move, so I knew this fellow was unprepared. I left the main force behind and took only a hundred light cavalry, rushed to the town, woke him up, and then executed him on the street with one slash..."

"..."

ps: Is the twentieth moe Yokoya Sekijaku or Wang Xiaonan? I'm confused because the names are so familiar... I can only say I'm still endlessly grateful.