"My lord, I still say the same thing, these Hu barbarians are cruel and unrighteous, plunging the world into suffering and misery..."
Outside Houqiu County in Donghai Commandery, in a small six-sided pavilion, Mi Shi said to Zhou Fugui.
"Alright, alright..." Zhou Fugui interrupted before Mi Shi could finish, "It's just an excuse. You know it, I know it, why beat around the bush? If the Great Monk has something to say, just say it directly."
Did Zhou Fugui not know that the Hu barbarians were savage and brutal? The experiences of these past few years had made him more aware of this than anyone else.
If in the past, when he was in Guangling Commandery, Zhou Fugui had outwardly complied while inwardly resisting Mi Shi for his own survival, then now, as the Prefect of Donghai Commandery, holding a well-trained army and gaining the people's trust through plague control and disaster relief, he had no need to be so polite to Mi Shi.
If it weren't for his own ambitions, Zhou Fugui could have immediately wiped out the Hinayana sect in Donghai Commandery. Even if he couldn't capture or kill Mi Shi, he could have at least captured or killed most of his henchmen. The Hinayana sect would not be allowed to exist in Donghai Commandery.
Therefore, Zhou Fugui's intention was: show your sincerity, don't put on a condescending air or a hypocritical pretense of moral superiority.
Upon hearing this, a hint of anger flashed across Mi Shi's face, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared, and his expression returned to calm.
In the Hinayana sect, among its followers, Mi Shi was like a god. His words were like imperial decrees, and no one dared to disobey them, nor would anyone dare to make him so embarrassed.
However, at this moment, Mi Shi could do nothing to Zhou Fugui. On the contrary, he was asking a favor of him, or rather, he was also pursuing his own ambitions.
The rebellion that the Hinayana sect had painstakingly incited was swiftly quelled by Zhou Fugui's army, which made Mi Shi hesitate to act rashly, or rather, he didn't want to offend Zhou Fugui.
"Doesn't the Grand Governor want to say something? Or rather, what is the Grand Governor after?" Mi Shi asked, suppressing the annoyance in his heart.
"I wouldn't be here today if I didn't want to say anything." Zhou Fugui grinned, revealing his white teeth, "What I am after is nothing more than protecting the borders and pacifying the people. As long as the borders are protected and the people are pacified, I can turn a blind eye."
Yesterday, Zhou Fugui had received urgent reports from Deng, confirming that the disease outbreak in Muyang County and two other counties was malaria, which does not spread through the respiratory tract. Therefore, Zhou Fugui no longer wore a mask. Furthermore, under the efforts of physicians such as Sun Yu and Deng Qingzhai, and with Zhou Fugui's correct response strategy, the epidemic in Muyang County and the other two counties had been largely controlled.
"Heh, is the Grand Governor truly here to protect the borders and pacify the people?" Mi Shi chuckled. "The Grand Governor says I dare not speak frankly, but aren't you the same?"
"Hahahaha!" The two looked at each other and burst into laughter.
*Hmph, scheming and harboring their own agendas,* Huang Daimei snorted inwardly.
"You may withdraw," Mi Shi then ordered Qin Yulian and two subordinates.
Of course, the fewer people who knew about secret matters, the better.
After Qin Yulian and the others left, Mi Shi glanced at Zhou Fugui and the siblings Huang Shibu and Huang Daimei, indicating that it was Zhou Fugui's turn to dismiss his own people.
Unexpectedly, Zhou Fugui smiled at Mi Shi and said, "Brother Ba and his sister are my confidants, so there's no need for them to leave."
*Pfft!* Mi Shi, mid-sip of tea, spat it out slowly. Then he stared blankly at Zhou Fugui.
This is simply too much! Mi Shi glared at Zhou Fugui, raging inwardly. Does he truly not understand, or is he doing this intentionally?
Everyone in this pavilion was a confidant, but the matter to be discussed was important. Secret and important matters, of course, should be known by as few people as possible, which was why Mi Shi had dismissed his attendants. Yet Zhou Fugui actually wanted to keep the Huang siblings in the pavilion? This would make Mi Shi appear to be disregarding his subordinates, who might even think that Mi Shi didn't consider them confidants. Qin Yulian was one thing, merely a plaything, but the other two were Mi Shi's right and left hands.
Moreover, Mi Shi was a rebel wanted by the Yan imperial court, while Zhou Fugui was currently a high official of the Great Yan Dynasty and a key minister of the Yan court.
*Ignorant and absurd child! If I had known this would happen, I would have gathered a large group of people to listen to our 'secret meeting',* Mi Shi cursed inwardly, enraged.
*Puchi!* Huang Daimei couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.
"Haha, you two discuss at your leisure. My sister and I won't disturb you." Zhou Fugui was being polite, but Huang Shibu couldn't be impolite. With a laugh, he grabbed Huang Daimei and walked out of the six-sided pavilion.
"Grand Governor, I wish to..." After Huang Shibu and his sister left, Mi Shi said in a low voice to Zhou Fugui.
...
"My team, just started, with a dozen people, seven or eight guns..." On the way back to the city, Zhou Fugui was in high spirits and even started singing a song that no one understood.
After so much effort, Zhou Fugui had finally found an ally, albeit an unreliable one... Although they had viewed each other as enemies just a few years ago, wasn't everything in this world like this? There are no eternal friends, nor eternal enemies, only eternal interests.
"Master, why are you so happy?" Zhou Fugui was happy, so Pi'e was also happy. Riding a horse, Pi'e asked with a smile.
"The chaos is quelled, the epidemic is controlled, and I will soon be reunited with the women at home. How can I not be happy?" Zhou Fugui was in a rare good mood today, so he uncharacteristically joked with Pi'e and his personal guards.
"Master, what is a woman? Is it tasty?" Pi'e called Zhou Fugui master, and Hu Jue also called him master. Hearing this, Hu Jue raised his lion's nose and asked dismissively in a muffled voice.
"Hahahaha!" The guards burst into laughter.
"You glutton, women are soft and tender, of course they are delicious, but not in a boiled sense. It depends on how you eat them..." Zhou Fugui glared at Hu Jue and then said to the guards, "You few, do you miss women? I'll reward you with some when we get back."
Speaking of women, the guards looked as if they were salivating, their mouths watering...
Zhou Fugui enjoyed his own pleasures, but he couldn't let his brothers starve... While fighting on the front lines, the longing for home and family was greater, and women were a good remedy to alleviate this longing.
In the former Donghai King's mansion, now the Grand Governor's mansion, there were many maids and servant girls. Zhou Fugui no longer wanted to keep them; he couldn't afford to. He had originally planned to give them some money and let them go their separate ways, but in these chaotic times, doing so might not be appropriate. Therefore, it would be better to assign them to the soldiers. At least the Snow Bear Army soldiers had generous pay, and it was never withheld or delayed.
In addition, Zhou Fugui still had many female slaves who formerly belonged to Murong Hong.
"Grand Governor, do I get one too?" a guard named Wang asked joyfully.
"Everyone gets a share!" Zhou Fugui replied with a smile.
"That's great! Dad, Mom, I finally have a wife." another guard named Zhai said happily, "Thank you, Grand Governor!"
"Don't thank me just yet." Zhou Fugui smiled, "You mentioned the word 'wife' just now. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Grand Governor, what do you mean?" the guard named Wang asked.
"In these chaotic times, everyone has a hard life, and they have it even harder..." Zhou Fugui replied, "Therefore, you must treat them well, do not bully them, and certainly do not hit or scold them arbitrarily. If they complain to me, I will not forgive you."
"Oh, Grand Governor, after finally getting a wife... can I worship her like the Bodhisattva Guanyin?" the guard named Zhai exclaimed.
"Hahahaha!" The guards burst into laughter again.
"Little Six, worshipping her won't lead to children," a guard named Hu joked.
"Brother Hu, how do we have children?" the guard named Wang asked.
"It needs to be done like this, like this..." The guards grew increasingly lewd, and at the same time, they became impatient, eager to fly back to Donghai County immediately.
"Hmph!" Pi'e snorted coldly.
"Master, find a woman for Brother Pi'e..." Hu Jue said to Zhou Fugui with a wink.
Hu Jue was not ignorant of women. In the past, under Duo Yongjian, he had slept with female slaves.
"That's not difficult?" Zhou Fugui replied with a smile, "Pi'e is like a brother. If he fancies any woman, I will personally go to her family to propose marriage for my brother."
"That won't do..." Hu Jue shook his head. "There's an old saying on the grasslands: lions marry lions, jackals marry jackals, cows pair with cows, and sheep pair with sheep. Giving those delicate young ladies to Brother Pi'e? Be careful he doesn't crush the bed and the person along with it..."
*Bang!*
"Ouch!"
Hu Jue was knocked off his horse by Pi'e...
"Hahahaha!" The guards burst into laughter again.
Zhou Fugui also smiled and shook his head, remaining silent.
Hu Jue's words, though crude, were not entirely a joke. For a fierce person like Pi'e, ordinary women would indeed be unable to satisfy him. But where could Zhou Fugui find a woman who matched him in strength?
Zhou Fugui once again experienced the feeling of a commanding general being like the parent of a family.
"What are you all laughing at?" Just then, Huang Daimei, who had returned, looked at Zhou Fugui and the guards with great confusion.
*Slap!* Zhou Fugui spurred his horse forward, flicking his whip hard on the hindquarters of Huang Daimei's warhorse. The horse carried Huang Daimei forward, and Zhou Fugui followed closely.
The two disappeared from the sight of the guards, whose eyes were shining green like wolves and tigers.
"What are you doing?" Huang Daimei finally managed to rein in her horse and turned to look at Zhou Fugui, pouting.
"Why did you come back if you weren't going back with your brother?" Zhou Fugui lightly flicked his reins, riding alongside Huang Daimei, and asked as they rode.
"I... I... have something... I wanted to ask you..." Huang Daimei stammered.
"What is it?" Zhou Fugui asked with some helplessness.
*Why is this young girl, disguised as a boy, so curious?* Zhou Fugui thought to himself.