"Zhou Fugui, native of Luoyan Village, Lumíng Township, Youzhou. His father, Lord Zhou, and mother, Lady Liu. In the fourth year of Yongping, he was conscripted and followed the army on a southern expedition to Xia. He participated in over a hundred battles, accumulating merits to rise through the ranks from flag officer, camp supervisor, camp officer, to brigadier general. In the sixth year of Yongping, upon returning to the capital, he was consumed by family matters, killing over two hundred people from the Duan tribe and others. The current emperor granted him special amnesty and exiled him to the frontier."
Within the city of Xuelin, in a large room, Yan Xuelin, the border commander, the Ning Shuo Count, the Left General, and the governor of Guigu Pass, Qilin Pass, and Xuelin City, Hu Yan Sheng, spoke to Zhou Fugui in a low voice.
"During your exile, you clashed with the Xiao family village. To save a friend's life, you single-handedly stormed Fei Long Mountain. You truly are not a fuel-efficient lamp," Hu Yan Sheng said, seated behind a wooden table, looking at Zhou Fugui.
On the wooden table were brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, a token, and some documents and military books. This filled Zhou Fugui with a sense of surprise.
In Zhou Fugui's impression, among the Xianbei, Xiongnu, and other tribes, except for a very few individuals, few were literate, let alone familiar with military books.
"Brigadier General Zhou, I am speaking to you," Zhou Fugui said. After entering the room, he had been looking around. At his feet was a little white bear... This made Hu Yan Sheng feel both amused and exasperated, even a bit angry and depressed.
The people of Xuelin City, when facing Hu Yan Sheng, were all deathly silent, but Zhou Fugui appeared to be inattentive...
"Oh, oh, Great Governor speaks wisely..." Zhou Fugui stood in the room, looking at Hu Yan Sheng and said, "I, this not fuel-efficient lamp, have come to Xuelin City, and I fear I will make the Great Governor use more lamp oil. I wonder how much lamp oil your attendants use daily?"
"Brigadier General Zhou is also a man who has survived a hundred battles," Hu Yan Sheng ignored Zhou Fugui's resentful tone and continued, "yet you are so ignorant of military affairs and the art of leading troops. It is quite disappointing to me!"
"Great Governor, why do you say that?" Zhou Fugui had been in the army for two years, rising from a lowly soldier to a flag officer, a camp officer, and so on. He had experienced many battles, winning more than losing. He was quite confident about this. Why, in Hu Yan Sheng's words, did he become someone ignorant of military affairs? Zhou Fugui was quite indignant about this.
"No one insults people like this," Zhou Fugui thought to himself.
"Do you know why I drove you out of Xuelin City?" Hu Yan Sheng asked.
"Isn't that the rule of Xuelin City?" Zhou Fugui retorted.
"It is the rule of Xuelin City," Hu Yan Sheng nodded. "This rule has been passed down for generations. For what purpose is it?"
"I do not know," Zhou Fugui said irritably upon hearing this.
"Xuelin City is surrounded by wolves, a bloody battlefield where corpses pile up. Therefore, all conscripts who come to Xuelin City must first become familiar with this place, its environment, its climate, every blade of grass and every tree, everything here," Hu Yan Sheng said slowly.
"What ridiculous rules?" Zhou Fugui finally became angry and said with grief and indignation, "They caused the deaths of over two hundred of my brothers."
"Brigadier General Zhou, this is womanish benevolence," Hu Yan Sheng said indifferently, showing no pity, and coldly continued, "Brigadier General Zhou, you are also a commander. Do you not know the principle of killing three thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of your own? Or even killing eight hundred enemies at the cost of three thousand. You can go and ask, which of my border soldiers has not experienced the pain of losing loved ones, of losing brothers? If everyone were like you, crying rivers for a few deaths, how could my border troops fight the northern barbarians? How could Xuelin City be preserved? How could the common people south of Xuelin City be preserved, and how could the heartland of Great Yan be spared from the trampling hooves of the barbarians?"
"I..." Hu Yan Sheng's reprimand left Zhou Fugui speechless.
How could Zhou Fugui not understand the principle of killing three thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of his own? But as fellow villagers and brothers died before his eyes, Zhou Fugui could not help but feel sorrow and sadness.
"The success of one general is built upon the bones of ten thousand soldiers. Therefore, all famous generals and celebrated warriors, their reputations are built upon countless corpses. The greater the reputation, the more numerous the corpses," Hu Yan Sheng continued coldly. "Womanish benevolence will only lead to obscurity. Brigadier General Zhou, what kind of person do you wish to become?"
Zhou Fugui was again rendered speechless, not knowing how to answer.
Zhou Fugui certainly did not want to become an unknown figure, nor did he want to be mediocre. Murong Huiying was waiting for Zhou Fugui to marry her while riding on a "seven-colored auspicious cloud." Even with the "seven-colored auspicious cloud," it would be a great shame if piloted by a mediocre person...
If Zhou Fugui did not want to become an obscure figure or mediocre, then given his current status, his only path was to achieve merit on the battlefield. And he had to exert himself to the utmost, and even then, success was not guaranteed.
Achieving merit on the battlefield, in essence, was about killing and being killed, either killing the enemy or being killed by them. Amidst this, it was inevitable that corpses would litter the ground and blood would flow like rivers.
"Brigadier General Zhou probably thinks that my attendants have been wronged, or that they are overqualified for their roles," Hu Yan Sheng said, and then suddenly raised his voice. "In my opinion, you are not even worthy of being my attendant!"
"Please instruct me, Great Governor!" Zhou Fugui, having been scolded by Hu Yan Sheng, lost all his spirit. His aura immediately diminished, and he lowered his head and said in a low voice.
"You made three mistakes in this battle. Those deceased brothers of yours can be said to have been killed by yourself." Hu Yan Sheng nodded slightly with satisfaction at Zhou Fugui's change in attitude, but still rebuked him mercilessly.
"I killed them?" Zhou Fugui was enraged upon hearing this. He raised his head and glared at Hu Yan Sheng, shouting, "We were only over four hundred people, facing the biting cold wind and snow, and also facing wolf packs and barbarians. I, Zhou, did my best."
"Haphazard fighting is also doing your best," Hu Yan Sheng sneered. "As a commander, one must be cautious, as if walking on thin ice. With the slightest carelessness, your soldiers will suffer countless casualties, or even be annihilated. Brigadier General Zhou, let me ask you, why did the snow wolves inexplicably attack you?"
"How would I know? I am not... Great Governor, are you referring to roasting wild game?" Zhou Fugui suddenly realized, and felt immense regret, shame, and humiliation. He wished he could find a hole to crawl into.
Why did he seem to have witnessed it with his own eyes? Zhou Fugui secretly wondered.
In reality, Hu Yan Sheng had not witnessed it personally. He had countless scouts who had already thoroughly investigated everything that had happened on the snowfield, as if he had seen it with his own eyes.
"It smells so good, even I can smell it from within Xuelin City," Hu Yan Sheng sneered. "A wolf's sense of smell is far superior to a human's. Do you not know this common knowledge? Or were you negligent? Roasting and burning wild game attracted the wolf pack. This is the first mistake. The second mistake was starting a fire, which attracted the barbarian soldiers. You could say you drew fire upon yourself. Zhou Fugui, there are many ways to keep warm. Why did you choose to use open flames for warmth? Why did you shoot five fire arrows? Were you afraid the barbarian soldiers would not know your location and your numbers?"
"One was to kill the leading wolf, and the second was so that the Great Governor could send troops to rescue us," Zhou Fugui muttered in a low voice, then angrily looked up at Hu Yan Sheng and asked, "If that is the case, then the Great Governor saw the fire arrows, so why did you allow us to be besieged by the barbarian soldiers and delay sending troops?"
If Hu Yan Sheng had sent troops earlier, Zhou Fugui and his men would not have suffered such heavy losses.
"Brigadier General Zhou..." Hu Yan Sheng said coldly, "The one who knows the future cannot divine it from gods or spirits, nor infer it from events, nor verify it by calculation. One must learn from people, and know the enemy's situation. I bear the heavy responsibility of guarding the strategic pass and the trust of the Great Chieftain. With the enemy's situation unclear, and in the dead of night, let alone your mere hundreds of men, even tens of thousands, I would not have dispatched a single soldier."
What did Great Yan give you, old man, that you, a Xiongnu, are working so hard for? Zhou Fugui muttered in his heart.
"Great Governor, you are dedicated to your duties and have worked tirelessly. I am deeply impressed, hmph!" At this moment, Zhou Fugui was convinced but not outspoken. He continued to mock Hu Yan Sheng with his words.
Zhou Fugui was not only convinced but not outspoken, but also somewhat ashamed and angry...
"Get out. Considering you have come from afar, go and rest well for a day. Be here punctually tomorrow for roll call, or you will face military law!" Hu Yan Sheng seemed furious and said to Zhou Fugui.
"Dare I disobey the Great Governor's command? Hmph!" Zhou Fugui was still unconvinced but not outspoken. With a hmph, he turned to leave the room.
"Wait a moment!" As Zhou Fugui was about to leave the room, Hu Yan Sheng suddenly called out to him and said, "I heard you let a barbarian go?"
"Mm..." Zhou Fugui nodded. "She was a woman, so I could not bring myself to harm her."
"Another instance of womanish benevolence! Get out, quickly get out!" Hu Yan Sheng, enraged, his white beard fluttering, pointed at Zhou Fugui and shouted.
Zhou Fugui hastily scrambled out of the room.
The little white bear, Chi You, relieved, followed Zhou Fugui out of the room like a shadow. The bear's large head had already terrified the little white bear out of its wits.
"Boy, one day you will understand my good intentions," Hu Yan Sheng thought to himself, watching Zhou Fugui's retreating back.
... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...
"Alas, Chi You, I am filled with regret!"
Zhou Fugui had traveled a thousand miles to Xuelin City. After being driven out of the city, he had battled with wolf packs and barbarians, and was already exhausted. He just wanted to sleep soundly, but Hu Yan Sheng's reprimand was like a deafening thunderclap, making it impossible for Zhou Fugui to sleep for a long time. Holding the little white bear, he talked to himself.
"Ao... Ao..." For some reason, the little white bear was also unusually excited. It placed its little paws on Zhou Fugui's shoulders, stuck out its little red tongue, and desperately licked Zhou Fugui's cheeks.
"Alas, Chi You, I have no face to see anyone anymore. I have let down my fallen brothers," Zhou Fugui sighed again, hugging the little white bear.
"Ao... Ao..." The little white bear was extremely clever and very human-like. It cried "ao ao," sat in Zhou Fugui's arms, and patted him with its little paws, as if trying its best to comfort Zhou Fugui.
Zhou Fugui sighed again and lay on the floor, staring blankly at the ceiling.