Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 467 - 441: It’s just breaking the law, can it kill you?

Chapter 467: Chapter 441: It’s just breaking the law, can it kill you?

Changsun Bubai followed behind Zhang San, greeting him, then Changsun’s three sons and Changsun Youde greeted him before they took their seats.

Mei Fei had been worried that since Zhang San was assigned to the Lingwu Army, he might become one of them.

After all, Mei Fei knew that his reputation was not considerable at the Lingwu Army.

But now, seeing the words Zhang San had spoken to him, Mei Fei felt that Zhang San might not belong to the Lingwu Army, at least not yet.

Otherwise, his greeting wouldn’t have been so polite and his words so objective.

After all, his discord with the Lingwu Army was known to all.

Zhang San had no reason to flatter him, unless what he was saying was true.

With this in mind, Mei Fei looked at Zhang San again, who was rather handsome, and liked him even more.

High attractiveness, no matter the era, always provides an advantage.

If you are a strikingly beautiful woman who fails in your attempt to assassinate a corrupt emperor, the emperor, upon just one glance, would think you were exploited, surely hiding some complications, certainly having some difficulties.

However, if you are a hideous, obese abomination, even if the emperor just happens to see you while stepping out, he would be startled and then scream for the presence of an assassin, prompting the Golden Melon Warriors to smack your forehead!

The more Mei Fei looked at Zhang San, the more pleasing he found him, and he suddenly thought of his daughter, who, although just over fifteen, and Zhang San, who looked to be about eighteen or nineteen, that arrangement might just be possible!

"I am Zhang San, newly arrived in the Northern Army, and I am not very familiar with the situation here. Though I am here by Kaihuang’s command, being new is still being new, so I hope all the generals and seniors here will kindly offer their guidance in the future," said Zhang San as he took his seat.

Zhang San initially greeted everyone, and both the composure he maintained upon entering and his friendly, adequate greeting now gained him considerable favor among all the gathered military personnel.

Quite a few even suspected that Changsun Bubai, that old fox, knew Zhang San was talented and thus schemed to snatch him away.

Such an outstanding person should be retained in our Shuofang Army!

Mei Fei then spoke, "Since you are new, Zhang San, let me first introduce you to the full array of our generals here."

At that moment, Mei Fei himself didn’t realize that he had already started using the intimate "us" when speaking to Zhang San.

"This is Deputy General Wang Lihui, the number one person in Martial Style in our Shuofang Army. He’s not very talkative but is a very good person. If you’re ever uncomfortable staying at Lingwu, you’re also welcome to stay with us in Shuofang for a few days. When you arrive, just look for Deputy General Wang," Mei Fei continued.

Zhang San immediately cupped his fists and greeted Wang Lihui.

"This is Old General Yuchi An from the Jin River Road. Recently, Kaihuang has ordered a campaign against the remnants of Northern Qi led by Gao Junxian, and Old General Yuchi has come here to dispatch some troops, coincidently being here today," Mei Fei added.

Zhang San, observing the worry between the man’s brows, guessed this general must have had a tough time with Mei Fei, else he wouldn’t be so unhappy.

Recalling the information Changsun Bubai had shared about the three factions of the Northern Commandery, Zhang San quickly concluded that Old General Yuchi must be from the overlooked Centrist Faction.

Zhang San immediately greeted Yuchi An with a bow.

"I had heard of the Old General’s great name way back on Chuan-Yu Road, old general, please accept my respect," Zhang San said humbly.

Yuchi An, though feeling that Zhang San’s words might simply be polite remarks, still felt significantly respected by the young man and quickly waved his hand smilingly, "No need for such formality, young brother Zhang. I heard about your arrival at the camp and how you attacked Tujue at night, bringing back thousands of cattle and sheep. A true young hero!"

Mei Fei continued with the introductions, soon getting to Peng Hu.

"This, is a fierce general of our army..."

"Grand Commander Mei, I recognize this man. This is my big brother Peng Hu! You might not know, but I was previously the Military Chief at the Town Martial Office, so on my way to the Northern Army, I was constantly pursued by Demon Cult Followers of the Heavenly Punishment Sect. That evening, lucky for me, I ran into twenty soldiers sent by big brother Peng Hu to patrol the southern area; had those twenty not discovered the Demon Cult Followers attempting a night attack and defended me to the death, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have made it to the Northern Army. Big brother Peng Hu truly owes me a life-saving favor!"

At that moment, Yuchi An frowned.

He had come to borrow troops himself, and Mei Fei had said that Shuofang Army was short on manpower, even mentioning that some time ago, Peng Hu’s troops had been attacked by the Heavenly Punishment Sect, losing all two hundred men from four units. How could it be that now in Zhang San’s report, it had turned into only twenty men?

"Zhang San, how did I hear that General Peng Hu had dispatched a full two hundred men, and even the report of these two hundred men’s deaths had been delivered to the Ministry of War, with the pensions already distributed? Could you have remembered it wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Peng Hu was startled.

He had reported two hundred men but forgot to tell Zhang San!

However, thinking of his relationship with Zhang San, he was sure Zhang San would claim it was a mistake.

This somewhat reassured him.

At this point, Zhang San spoke up, "Impossible! It was only twenty men! Old General, you must have remembered wrong!"

Old General Yuchi immediately sensed something fishy and shook his head, "I asked Grand Commander-in-Chief Mei to borrow troops, and he even showed me the army roster. That was two hundred lives! There’s no way I could have remembered it incorrectly!"

Zhang San looked perplexed and said, "Impossible! It’s only twenty men, look for yourself!"

As he spoke, Zhang San took out what Feng Chengying had released inside the main tent of the Central Army.

In the Feng Chengying, Zhang San shouted at the twenty soldiers who had helped him block the Demon Cult Followers, eliciting a heart-wrenching sorrow from anyone who watched.

For Peng Hu in particular, seeing this scene truly tore him apart!

"Old General, I respect you greatly, I really do, but look, it’s really just these twenty men!"

At this time, Old General Yuchi turned his head to look at Mei Fei.

Mei Fei’s face turned red, how utterly embarrassing!

Siphoning funds for non-existent soldiers was one thing, but to let everyone know about it was another!

Today, he had specifically invited all the officers in the camp to undermine his position, and just his luck, a key figure of the Centrist Faction, Old General Yuchi, was also present - and you had to slap me in the face like this?

"Peng Hu! Get out here and kneel down! What exactly happened? Are you really skimming off the top like this?"

Peng Hu shivered in fear, ran out, and fell to his knees, knocking his head on the ground repeatedly, "I... I... actually... uh... I..."

Seeing this, Zhang San immediately put on a pleasant demeanor and said, "There may be some misunderstanding here. Maybe two hundred men were dispatched that day, and I only encountered twenty, while the others might have been killed by the Demon Cult Followers elsewhere."

Upon hearing Zhang San say this, Peng Hu finally took a breath of relief and nodded vigorously, "Actually... actually, that’s exactly what happened, but I hadn’t... hadn’t explained it clearly before."

Zhang San immediately added, "I trust my brother Peng Hu. If you don’t believe it, we can find the bodies of the other one hundred eighty men. It’s not possible that an extra one hundred eighty men died without any bodies... uh..."

At that moment, Zhang San pretended to just notice the embarrassed look on Peng Hu’s face and lowered his head, stopping to talk.

Yuchi An watched Mei Fei calmly but said nothing.

Mei Fei was fuming!

Just then, he heard Changsun Wuji whispering a question nearby.

"Brother San, you’re not going to just scold Peng Hu a little and let it go, are you?"

Mei Fei had initially intended to be lenient, but now that someone said this, how could he proceed?

At this moment, Zhang San whispered, "It’s just a minor violation of the law, he’s not going to be killed for it, right!?"