Chapter 162 – Cherish Oneself

In the blink of an eye, it was mid-February, and the Imperial Examination, added due to the Emperor’s birthday, commenced. Sitting high on the dais, Xie Yi thought about the previous top three scholars and felt a slight tinge of melancholy.

As March approached, the peach blossoms began to reveal faint pink buds. The newly selected top three scholars attended the Banquet of Imperial Favor once again. Meanwhile, the southeastern sea frontier brought news of victory.

Fang Zijing personally led the troops to land on the southern island of Silla and encircled the area with the Liaoji army from the north and south. In alliance with the Silla Restoration Army, they advanced like a broken bamboo and recaptured five cities of Silla and conquered the lair of the Japanese pirates at Xizhou. The pirate leader, Hōjō Tokimune, and others fled hurriedly under the cover of night. They pursued them all the way to Anzhou, pacifying the peninsula. The siege of the Silla capital, Gyeongju, was imminent, and recovery was in sight.

The news of victory invigorated the imperial court.

Only Xie Yi meticulously searched through the report of military success, finding that Xu Chun had fought two coastal defense battles alongside Fang Zijing. After breaking through the coastal defenses and landing, he was mentioned in the merit report. The people around Xu Chun, such as Pei Dongyan, Dinghai, Chunxi, and others, all had decapitation merits, and their numbers weren’t low. However, Xu Chun himself only had the merit of commanding ships from afar, coordinating artillery fire, siege crossbows, and other city attack strategies.

Xie Yi felt a faint sense of comfort, knowing that Xu Chun had listened to his words and hadn’t personally charged into battle to kill enemies, but had focused solely on command. Fang Zijing was a seasoned old general; naturally, he would have kept Xu Chun close to instruct him.

Looking further into the names of meritorious generals in the report, the name He Shiduo of the Jinhai Defense Guard stood out prominently among those who had scaled the walls first. He found the name familiar, recalling that he was none other than the “Big Brother He” mentioned in Xu Chun’s letters.

He extended the vermilion brush slightly and pointed. Su Huai asked with a smile, “What does Your Majesty intend to do?”

Xie Yi said, “For scaling the walls four times, he can be conferred the rank of Fourth Rank Xuwei General, with the additional grace of a thousand households.”

Su Huai laughed and said, “Congratulations to Prince Xu’s subordinates for gaining another fierce general.”

The corners of Xie Yi’s mouth curved slightly. “Since he obediently listened to My words, I’m willing to confer rewards on his capable subordinates.”

==

Heavy red clouds hung overhead, and the sea wind was sharp and biting.

“Speak less, for fewer words convey more authority. This is how one becomes unpredictable,” Nong Siji said as he walked side by side with Xu Chun and stepped onto the deck. They looked out over the vast ocean from the railing of the lookout tower. Below, the soldiers were silent, diligently attending to their duties. “An unpredictable man is a noble scholar.”

Xu Chun watched him, his clean-shaven face cold, his eyes half-closed. Today, he wore a black round-neck robe over silver chain mail, his tall figure indeed having an air of mystery. Recalling the first time they met, although he was in a sorry state at the bottom, he remained calm and composed, courteous and measured in his speech, deeply beloved by his subordinates. A refined general, he indeed kept his lips sealed, refusing to reveal his background while only wanting to recruit them as brothers.

He remembered what Fang Zijing had said and suddenly recalled, “This was taught to you by His Excellency, right?”

Nong Siji whispered, “Yes, he taught me to speak less at all times, to often mimic the posture of a sick tiger or a sleeping eagle in gatherings. Specifically, he instructed me to always have a clove in my mouth before meeting people, so that whenever I wanted to speak, my tongue would touch the clove, reminding me to restrain my words and deliberately speak less. Indeed, gradually even Father treated me more kindly, and my younger brother showed me much more respect. My subordinates became more proactive, admitting their mistakes and proposing solutions even before I spoke.”

Xu Chun was speechless.

Nong Siji continued to confide in him, “I see that you’re young, but your guards treat you with great respect. Presumably, the Sheng family trained them well before entrusting them to you, but to turn them into your own subordinates requires some effort. Therefore, you should also speak less, not allowing your subordinates to guess your thoughts.”

Xu Chun was speechless.

He changed the subject. “We’ve been searching for this supply ship for three or four days now. Could the intelligence be incorrect?”

Nong Siji replied, “The sea is vast, making it easy to lose track of targets. Naval warfare is like this; patience is required. This area is near the waters of Japan and Silla. Now that all the land routes have been cut off, they can only resupply from their home country. We’ll have to spread out and search slowly.”

Xu Chun looked out to sea again and saw a distant sail. “There’s a ship!”

Nong Siji raised his head and looked up at the signal flags waved by the soldier on the mast. The soldier reported, “Pirate ship.”

Xu Chun took out the telescope and looked. Seeing the flag on the distant ship, his spirits lifted. “It’s a supply ship of the Japanese pirates. Finally, we’ve found them!”