Dandere General and his Lord
Chapter 25.1 - Endless Wars

Translated by Shiny

……….

25.1. Endless Wars

Cheng Qianye beckoned Mo Qiao Sheng over to her side.

“Take off your clothes.” She ordered abruptly.

Mo Qiao Sheng’s face turned red instantly, but he didn’t hesitate in the slightest as he untied his robe and exposed his broad shoulders, narrow waist, and the smooth contours of his body.

His body was criss-crossed with all kinds of old scars, and there were even a few new bruises.

“How did this happen?” Cheng Qianye berated, “If General Yu hadn’t told me, I would have never found out that you have been training yourself like this.”

She took out a pot of medicinal oil from the drawer and poured some into her palm before rubbing it on him, and then pressed his red and swollen joints, massaging it gently. “Does it hurt?”

“It doesn’t hurt, really. This little injury is nothing at all. I used to practice like this in the past.” 

It’s just that I work a bit harder now.

“Don’t talk to me about the past. Your past is already over.” Cheng Qianye increased her force. “Qiao Sheng, you have to learn to cherish yourself.”

“I have a lot of troublesome things to do, and the journey is a long one. If you want to walk with me, you can’t continue to treat yourself like this.”

Mo Qiao Sheng lowered his head and replied softly, “Yes.”

~

The coldest season finally arrived and the chilly wind ruthlessly tore open the bit of warmth that Cheng Qianye had worked so hard to build.

A blanket of ice and snow covered Bianzhou and one began to see the figures of refugees who had frozen or starved to death.

Cheng Qianye was bundled up in warm clothes and wore thick, deerskin boots as she walked carefully on top of the slippery ice that covered the path.

Suddenly, she closed her eyes and turned her head. Something seemed to have seized hold of her heart, making her entire body feel numb.

At a corner not too far away, there was a small pile of things curled up together. It was the body of a child, maybe two, and it had turned blue and purple from the cold, almost losing any traces of human features.

Cheng Qianye commanded herself to open her eyes, forcing herself to face the brutal scene.

Once, I did not want to manage these matters. 

This is the result of not wanting to do so.

Now that I hold this power, I must take this responsibility. At least, until I find a way to return, I want to do the best I can.

I want to reduce these scenes after scenes of cruel deaths and perverted abuses that keep happening, one after another, in my line of sight.

“Bury them.” Cheng Qianye waved her hand.

She raised her head and continued to walk forward.

The cold winter passed and the ice and snow melted, carrying away those nameless deaths and suffering as it went.

The spring flowers bloomed and the world appeared to be brimming with hope once again.

In Yongqiu City not far from Bianzhou, the commoners busied themselves with spring ploughing as they worried about the upcoming war.

“Did you hear? The Jin Army has already seized Gaoyang and Qixian. They might come to our Yongqiu in a few days.”

“Another war. These wars are endless. When will it end?”

“Ai, the lord changes every year. Just look at us, as long as we don’t have to go to war, it’s the same whoever sits in the position of lord.”

“I’ve heard that although the Lord of Jin is very young, everyone says that he….” The man looked around and lowered his voice. “He shows empathy for his subjects, a benevolent monarch who loves the common people as though they were his children.”

“Where are there any benevolent monarchs these days? Those so-called benevolent monarchs are just the same as these barbarians from those other tribes. They don’t care about the lives of us commoners.”

“That’s not true. A new policy called the Land Grant System was just carried out in Bianzhou. Men who are over the age of 15 can receive their own block of farmland and a field as long they become nationals of Jin.”

“I heard that as well. My neighbor Wang and his whole family are getting ready to move to Bianzhou quietly.”

“Oh? Don’t you need to tend to the public fields? Can one’s personal land be passed down to one’s children?”

“How many acres of land can one get?”

“Oh! It’s good if you can have your own fields.”

“In that case, it might not be a bad idea for them to come here quickly. At least we wouldn’t have to live under the oppression of these barbarians in order to eke out a living.”

Marquis Jin Yue dispatched his troops on a punitive expedition to Yongqiu.

The one defending Yongqiu’s city walls was a famous Quanrong general named Du Luowei. After hearing the news, the commanders gathered together and made an inventory of their army horses before going out to meet their enemies.

The military advisor admonished, “Marquis Jin Yue has taken Bianzhou as the heart and seized Gaoyang and Qixian in succession. The wind is blowing in their direction, General must not underestimate the enemy, and stand firm. I believe our unit should request General Wei Mingshan for reinforcements from Zhengzhou and attack the enemy from the inside and the outside, so there won’t be any need to worry about them.

Du Luowei angrily said, “Marquis Jin Yue is nothing more than an ignorant child. If that little guy had only spied on us, I wouldn’t have bothered taking the trouble to do anything. But how dare he attack our city! When I lead my army, I’m going to slaughter them until no one is left alive.”

Outside Yongqiu, a flag was raised proudly in the sky, the sound of the battle drums drowning out the sky.

The troops of the Jin Army made an opening and a young general dressed in black suddenly appeared. The man was wearing a black robe, light armor and a he wei guan¹ adorned his head as he sat astride a dark horse. His face was steely as he led the army forward to challenge their opponents.

He was actually the slave, Mo Qiao Sheng.

The city gates opened wide and a legion of troops poured out like black clouds, with the famous general from Quanrong, Du Luowei in the middle.

Du Luowei had a dark face with eyes like copper bells and two thick, sleek braids streaming down each of his shoulders. He was wearing a silvery white helmet and holding an iron mace as he sat atop a date-red horse with snowy white hooves.

He opened his mouth and started cursing, “Oi, little kid, go and tell that suckling baby lord from your country to go wash his neck and wait for this grandpa to clean you all up so I can go fetch his neck.”

Mo Qiao Sheng’s heart burned with fury and he didn’t say a word in reply as he raised up his spear and spurred his horse on, making a beeline towards Du Luowei.

The deputy general abruptly appeared by Du Luowei’s side and said, “Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken?² I will handle this nobody.”

He rode forward, his spear aimed straight at Mo Qiao Sheng.

Unexpectedly, Mo Qiao Sheng met head-on with that shiny spear, not dodging in the slightest, as though he wanted to receive a shot to his chest.

The spear brushed against his armour, emitting a loud screech as it slipped through a narrow opening between his arm and his side, falling at his ribs.

The opponent was unable to control his momentum and hurtled into Mo Qiao Sheng’s arms. 

Mo Qiao Sheng drew out a dagger. His hand rose up and the dagger plunged down. There was a flash of silver light and the man’s head separated from his body.

The blood splattered all over him.

Mo Qiao Sheng turned his horse around. His face was covered in blood, his eyes cold and filled with a savage air as he urged his horse forward, trampling over his dead adversary’s corpse, just like a murderous soul that had crawled out of hell.

The enemy troops’ momentum was shaken.

Du Luowei was filled with rage and let out a fierce roar as he waved his mace towards Qiao Sheng.

Mo Qiao Sheng was fearless as he met him head-on with his spear.

The two men crossed weapons as they fought for the upper hand, exchanging twenty or thirty blows.

Du Luowei was filled with trepidation on the inside. He had been born with superhuman strength, and he was able to lift a thousand pounds with both of his arms. It was rare for him to meet his match on the battlefield, but this little nameless young general from Jin Nation was actually evenly matched with him, and he could even vaguely sense that he was becoming more and more courageous the longer they fought.

Helan Zhen and Yu Dunsu were both providing support at the rear. 

Seeing the two fierce generals who were fighting valiantly at the front, their hearts were secretly filled with praise. 

Helan Zhen sighed emotionally and said, “This Mo Qiao Sheng is really outstanding. Today, I am finally convinced by My Lord’s eccentric methods of managing people.”

Yu Dunsu replied, “There are people beyond people, there are mountains beyond mountains.³ How can we judge heroes based on status? Forgive this foolish junior for overstepping. Brother Helan, you used to have a supercilious character which caused you to offend people everywhere which is what caused the calamity that day.”

Helan Zhen responded, “Xiandi’s,⁴ words are correct. I have received much favour and trust from My Lord this time, and Minister Xiao has sharp eyes that can spot an animal’s autumn down,⁵ allowing me to regain my innocence. Otherwise, this unworthy older brother of yours would probably still be locked up in prison.”

Just as he finished speaking, he saw a concealed enemy shoot an arrow from the opposing side, hitting the dark horse that Mo Qiao Sheng was sitting on. The warhorse threw back its head as it neighed, throwing Mo Qiao Sheng off its back.

Mo Qiao Sheng quickly rolled away, evading the mace that was hurtling towards him.

Helan Zhen yelled furiously, “Bastards! They have the audacity to use underhanded tricks! I’ll go and help him.”

But then he saw a young general who was dressed in a red and silver coloured robe at the front of the square-shaped formation urging his horse to run forward. His left hand held a bow and his right hand notched an arrow into place. With a “swoosh” the arrow flew forward and sunk into Du Luowei’s chest.

This person was A’Feng.

~

^{1. A sort of cap that has a feather adornment.↩}

^{2. ( 杀鸡焉用牛刀 – shā jī yān yòng niú dāo) – Idiom: Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken / Why use a sledgehammer on a nut; Meaning to expend an excessive amount of effort on a small/easy task.↩}

^{3. Meaning there’s always something/someone better out there; Nothing is perfect; One should always be modest.↩}

^{4. (贤弟 – Xiandi) – Term of respect for a younger brother or a younger man; Worthy little brother.↩}

^{5. (明察秋毫 – míng chá qiū háo) – Idiom; perceptive of even the most minute details.↩}

^♥

^{TL Note: Hello~ It’s your favourite promise breaker speaking~ But really, there was nothing I could do about it. There was a power outage today = no internet = no translating. So, oof :’) But I will make it up. I won’t say tomorrow cuz look where that got me. And I really will make up the chapters I lost when I was sick as well. Promise. <3}