277: Chapter 277 Loyal and Righteous

Zhao Caiwei looked as if she were meeting Lin Xiao for the first time. "Husband, you can write poetry?"

"Of course! Our husband comes from a scholarly background. If his martial arts weren't so formidable, he would at least be a leader in the literary world. Even Grand Scholar Zhu recognizes him as a close friend despite their age gap!" Mu Wanying said proudly.

Zhao Caiwei was stunned. Although she felt a bit embarrassed, she really wanted to ask, "Sister, are you truly not exaggerating?"

"Husband, look, Caiwei still doesn't believe it. Hurry up and recite the whole poem! I beg you!" Mu Wanying shook the man's hand back and forth.

Having experienced being a literary plagiarist in Xinghua Village last time, Lin Xiao no longer felt any psychological burden.

This poem was considered the greatest seven-character regulated verse of all time, and he actually remembered the whole thing.

" 'The wind is swift, the sky is high, the monkeys howl in sorrow; The islet is clear, the sand is white, the birds fly back. The boundless forest sheds its leaves in rustling descent; The endless Cang River comes rolling on.' ... "

This time, Lin Xiao changed "Yangtze River" to "Cang River."

The women didn't nitpick the details, because the entire poem had already left them completely intoxicated.

" 'A thousand miles of sorrowful autumn, I am often a traveler; A hundred years of illness, I climb this terrace alone...' "

" 'Hardships and bitter regrets have frosted my temples; In my destitution, I have just set aside the cup of cloudy wine?' "

Xiao Qingxuan's eyes were red, feeling a sense of sorrow and helplessness for the mountains and rivers of the old motherland.

"Husband, you are clearly so young; how did you write such verses filled with the loneliness of old age and illness, yet also so impassioned and heroic?"

Lin Xiao scratched his head. "Actually, I didn't write this..."

"Is it about my father?" Zhao Caiwei suddenly said. "The old man in your poem, Husband, looks exactly like my father..."

Huh!? Lin Xiao looked at the woman. How are you so good at making connections?

But then again, Zhao Yunting's turbulent life, suffering severe injuries in his old age in the Yan Region and struggling to hold on, did indeed have a bit of that desolate feeling.

Mu Wanying also couldn't help but shed tears. "Husband, just by this one poem, you are worthy of being called the Poet Sage of Great Gan."

Xiao Qingxuan and Zhao Caiwei nodded repeatedly, not feeling it was an exaggeration at all.

Lin Xiao felt a bit depressed. If he had known, he would have talked about something happy. Now, he had no choice but to act deep.

At the strong insistence of Xiao Qingxuan and the others, Lin Xiao agreed to have this poem inscribed on the highest stone wall of Jiangyue Tower.

However, he left the task of engraving to Zhao Caiwei. After all, it was written for "General Zhao," so it was naturally more meaningful for his daughter to write it.

That night, a servant who was responsible for cleaning Jiangyue Tower and had read books for a few years saw the poem and was instantly awestruck.

In the following days, "Climbing Jiangyue Tower" spread like a prairie fire, starting from Yong Province and quickly igniting the entire Great Gan.

The inscription "Gifted by Zhenbei Army Lin Xiao to Cold Iron Guard Commander-in-Chief Zhao" also became a topic of lively discussion.

Most people felt that the God of Slaughter, Lin Xiao, was merely a martial man and could never have written such an unparalleled, eternal masterpiece.

But the few who knew Lin Xiao, such as Zhu Ming and the others, were simply lost in admiration, curious about just what level Lin Xiao's literary talent could reach.

Lin Xiao did not care about these literary matters.

That night, after returning to the Generals Mansion and finishing his meal, he hurried back to his room to diligently cultivate with Xiao Qingxuan.

Having been separated for many days, Xiao Qingxuan's longing was like the water of the Cang River, flowing endlessly.

The Natural Allure combined with the Cold Jade Art, plus the effects of the Sunu Heart Manual, kept the two of them tossing and turning until dawn.

Looking at the woman who had fallen into a deep sleep, Lin Xiao felt very proud; in the end, he was the one who had the upper hand!

Feeling refreshed, he took Mu Wanying and Zhao Caiwei directly to the Zhenbei Army command camp.

When they entered, Zhao Yunting and the other generals were already waiting.

Seeing Lin Xiao, Zhao Yunting stood up, his eyes slightly swollen as he smiled and said, "Lin Xiao, thank you."

"Ah?" Lin Xiao was stunned, not understanding why.

"Thanks to that poem of yours, this old man can finally leave his name for eternity," Zhao Yunting said with a smile.

Beside them, Zhao Caiwei looked at her husband with tender affection. Last night, after her father heard the poem, he kept saying she had found a good man, and he was overjoyed.

After all, for a figure like Zhao Yunting, he no longer cared about fame or wealth; he only wanted to "leave a good name for posterity."

Lin Xiao suddenly realized and smiled awkwardly. "What are you saying? The old General is already a figure who will be remembered in history; I just added flowers to the brocade."

The small talk ended quickly. After Lin Xiao sat down, he got straight to the point. "Everyone should be aware that the Northern Territory is now settled, and there will be no more wars in the short term."

"But our Zhenbei Army cannot stand still. Because we are an army gathered from all corners of the land, there must be some lack of synergy."

"Furthermore, the troops under some generals were once mortal enemies... with deep blood feuds."

Speaking of this, the generals from the White Kings Army and the Yan Kings Army, as well as General Wu Jinzhe and a few other early Zhenbei Army generals, all glanced at each other.

Everyone had served different masters, and they could actually understand that. But the problem was, hatred would not completely dissolve just because of rational thinking.

In recent days, each major army camp had been training on its own, with almost zero communication between them.

"You are all seasoned generals, and each of you has your own methods of governing an army." Lin Xiao smiled and said, "Why don't you all share your thoughts? Do you have any good ideas?"

Everyone looked at Zhao Yunting first. If the old Marshal didn't speak, they naturally didn't dare to say anything.

"Lin Xiao, if you want to resolve the grudges between the various armies, there was a precedent for this during the founding of Great Gan."

Zhao Yunting didn't stand on ceremony and said slowly, "During the time of the founding Emperor, he once broke up the previous dynasty's armies and his own armies, and mixed them together."

"Then, he had the Great Gan generals and the former dynasty's generals rotate camps every two years."

"Five years later, the armies from various places no longer missed the previous dynasty and had completely become Great Gan armies."

Mixing them up and having generals rotate to different locations periodically was actually quite reliable. But the problem was, no matter how they were rearranged, they were still the imperial court's army, and in name, they could not escape the control of the royal family.

Lin Xiao remained calm and looked at the others. "General Zhao speaks with great reason. Does anyone else have anything to say?"

"Lin Xiao, why not hold a grand competition for the entire army, categorize the soldiers' combat strength into different ranks, and re-divide them based on combat power." Wei Dongxue stood up and cupped his hands. "Soldiers recognize the strong. With clear distinctions between strong and weak, they won't have any objections."

"In this way, within each army, there will be a sense of identification with each other, and it won't matter which unit they came from before."

General Wu Jinzhe frowned and said, "I fear this is inappropriate, isn't it? Are you suggesting that the Golden Scale Guard, the Cold Iron Guard, and the Silver Armor Army should have their designations cancelled?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the generals from both the Cold Iron Guard and the Silver Armor Army on the scene also frowned.

Wei Dongxue said righteously, "Since they have joined the Zhenbei Army, the five great iron cavalries should naturally become a thing of the past."

"Forgive me for speaking bluntly, but commanders like Commander-in-Chief Zhao and Grand Marshal Lu are no longer suitable..."

"Outrageous!!" An adjutant of the Silver Armor Army stood up and said, "The position of our Silver Armor Army's commander has existed since the time of the founding Emperor Taizong. You say you'll abolish it, so you abolish it?"

"That's right! While the Cold Iron Guard obeys Lin Xiao and has submitted to the Zhenbei Army, that doesn't mean we have to change our designation, does it?"

Qin He laughed upon hearing this. "You cavalrymen are almost being phased out by our Modao Squad; is it useful to argue about these things?!"

"You surnamed Qin, what do you mean!? Do you want to spar!?" "Spar then!..."

Seeing that they were about to quarrel, Lin Xiao mediated.

"Enough! This General has heard it all. This matter is inherently difficult to decide all at once, so you all withdraw first!"

"I'll say the ugly words first: whoever fights in private, don't blame me for being ruthless with military law!!"

Lin Xiao had actually guessed early on that it wouldn't go smoothly, but the stubbornness of these people exceeded his expectations.

The group of generals, none of whom were willing to submit to the others, glared at each other angrily before taking their leave and withdrawing.

After everyone left, General Zhao Kuan silently came to Lin Xiao's side. Just now, they were all "big shots," and as a mere garrison general, he felt embarrassed to speak.

"Worthy brother, I have a plan. I wonder if you would like to hear it?" Lin Xiao patted his brother's shoulder. "Brother Zhao, why are you still being polite with me? Speak your mind!"

General Zhao Kuan smiled. "Actually, it's just one sentence: if you want to dilute the taste of wine, just add some water..."

Lin Xiao narrowed his eyes. "You mean... expanding the army?"

"Worthy brother, you really understand at a hint," General Zhao Kuan nodded and said. "As long as we add some new recruits to each major army, they will naturally no longer be monolithic."

"The rest is actually just transferring away some troublemaking officers. With your prestige, worthy brother, they won't dare to make a peep!"

Lin Xiao said playfully, "This move is a bit underhanded. Did you really come up with this, Brother Zhao?"

"Sigh... It was my uncle who asked me to tell you. He cannot let down the old generals of the Cold Iron Guard, but in his heart, he actually understands that the Zhenbei Army must be reorganized and cannot be scattered here and there."

Lin Xiao looked at Zhao Caiwei on the side; the woman obviously already knew and smiled and nodded.

"My father-in-law... is loyal and righteous." Lin Xiao was also a bit moved, but still shook his head. "An army is not about quantity, but about discipline."

"Brother Zhao, I appreciate your good intentions, but... let's wait a while." "Wait?"

General Zhao Kuan looked puzzled, and Mu Wanying and Zhao Caiwei also looked at each other. They didn't understand how Lin Xiao could wait for such an important army reorganization.

"Of course, I don't mean waiting foolishly. A two-hundred-thousand-strong army cannot just eat military pay without working!"

Lin Xiao immediately took out a piece of paper he had written long ago and handed it to Zhao Caiwei on the side. "Caiwei, go find someone to help me find a bookseller for printing. The more, the better. Print twenty thousand copies first!"

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