Chapter 77: The Endurance of the Stove God

  The bandits had already rushed forward, and the leader, a man, caught sight of Wang Kuang sitting in the carriage, lifted the curtain, and looked at him with a sly smile. He felt a sudden jolt in his heart: This is not good! He hastily stopped in his tracks and shouted loudly: "It's a trick! Everyone be careful!"

  However, his shout was too late. A group of bandits had already rushed to the front of the troops. Suddenly, the soldiers who were rolling on the ground jumped up and ran to the upper wind direction, each holding a cloth bag in their hands. They threw all the bags towards the bandit crowd, and after a few rolls in mid-air, they all scattered open. In an instant, clusters of grayish-white powder enveloped the bandits inside.

  "Ah, my eyes, I can't see!" someone shouted out, and soon more and more bandits joined in the shouting. Dozens of them had already been blinded, each one rubbing their eyes with their hands. The more they rubbed, the more painful it became. In no time at all, they were all stumbling about.

  Only a few thieves, including the leader, were not blinded by the smoke, but these men were no match for the seasoned Imperial Guards. They were captured after a brief confrontation. Although the leader was brave and managed to wound several soldiers, he was no match for Li Yexu. In one encounter, Li Yexu knocked him to the ground with the back of his knife, and then the soldiers rushed forward and tied him up tightly.

  "What kind of good man are you, making secret calculations?" The leader of the men was brought over, still muttering in discontent. Li Ye's face turned red as he listened, and his feet unconsciously moved two steps away from Wang Kuang.

  "What? So you think putting poison in the water is a heroic act? Ambushing us halfway is a heroic act? Humph!" Wang Kuang looked at him with disdain and rolled his eyes. If Huang Da hadn't mentioned that the ambush was near the Eye Spring, Wang Kuang wouldn't have thought they would put poison in the water. And if they hadn't discovered the enemy's scouts beforehand, these soldiers might have fallen into their trap. The spring water is flowing, so if they had put poison in it earlier, the poison would have been diluted and disappeared after a while. That's why the enemy needed to send out scouts to gather information about the troops' movement and timing of putting poison. When Huang Da mentioned the ambush site last night, Wang Kuang thought of the Eye Spring there and guessed that the enemy might put poison in it. He had already planned how to play along today. And when they reported discovering the enemy's scouts earlier, it confirmed Wang Kuang's judgment. Even if we assume the enemy didn't put poison in the water, drinking cold water on an empty stomach can still cause stomach cramps in early spring. So whether or not there was poison, the soldiers would pretend to have stomachaches. The difference is that if there was poison, the water would have a strange smell and they wouldn't drink it, but would pretend more severely. If the water didn't have any strange smell when it reached their mouths, they would pretend less. Wang Kuang didn't believe in the existence of colorless and odorless poison at this time; basically, it was all exaggerated writing.

  As expected, the soldiers were on high alert today due to last night's arrangements. Otherwise, in this freezing cold weather, with the mountain wind blowing strongly, their tongues would have been numb from the cold water. By the time they realized they had been drugged, they would have already swallowed several big mouthfuls of it. Wang Kuang and Xu Guoxiao didn't drink that spring water; they both had thermoses of hot water prepared by Wang Kuang, so they didn't need to drink cold water. But when Wang Kuang saw the soldiers' exaggerated performance, he also knew that the water had been drugged.

  It was Lin Xiangruo who came up with the idea of a thermos flask. Yesterday, on the way here, Lin Xiangruo kept complaining that the water he drank was too cold and wished there was a way to have hot water to drink. So he went to ask Wang Kuang for advice. Wang Kuang then asked Shen Jia to work through the night to make several covers filled with cotton and goose down, which were used to wrap around the flasks containing hot water, keeping it warm for three or four hours. This way, as long as they refilled the hot water at rest stops in the morning and at noon, they could have hot water to drink throughout the day.

  He was scolded by Wang Kuang, and the bandit leader also fell silent. Li Ye's face turned even redder: "What's this? You guys are allowed to use underhanded tactics, but we're not allowed to outsmart you?" It's just like what Ah Gong said, "There is no constant strategy in war." If it weren't for Wang Erlang's plan today, I'm afraid we would have lost here. Thinking of this, he was furious and kicked the bandit leader several times: "You damn thief, you're defeated but still stubborn! If I were to lose, I wouldn't even frown!" Not satisfied yet, he picked up a horizontal knife and slapped the bandit leader's mouth several times with the flat side. In this cold weather, his mouth was already numb, and after being slapped like that, it immediately swelled up high. Wang Kuang looked at the mouth and suddenly thought of the famous "fragrant sausage mouth" from Dong Cheng Xi Du, and burst out laughing. Lin Xiangyun saw him and poked Wang Kuang: "Second Brother, what's so funny?"

  Nothing much, I just saw his mouth and thought of a dish, by the end of this year, I'll make it for you to try.

  "What's to eat? Still have to wait until the end of the year? How much longer will it take? By the time Erlang finishes, who knows if I'll still be in Jian'an?" Lin Xuanming deeply believed in Wang Kuang's words, he said that if he could do it, he would definitely succeed, but at the same time, he was also very confident about his own chances this year and was sure to win. With the help of Uncle Chang'an over the past two years and Father's achievements over the past two years, it was highly likely that he would be appointed as a small official in a foreign land within the year.

  "It's almost spring, the weather is humid, what I said about food can't be made until it gets cold and not so humid, otherwise it will go bad. It takes more than a month to make it from start to finish, it's not that easy."

  Xu Guoxiu was standing far away, but Wang Kuang and the others were standing upwind, so their conversation carried over to his ears. When he heard that it would take more than a month to prepare some food, he became interested. As a small eunuch who had given up on the idea of having descendants, all that was left for him was to enjoy life. Therefore, whenever someone from the palace mentioned food, he was extremely sensitive. He quickly stepped forward two steps: "Ah, Second Brother, what kind of food are you talking about? It takes a whole month to prepare? And it can only be made in winter? What a pity! By the time you make it, I'll be far away in Chang'an and won't get to eat any." He looked crestfallen after speaking.

  This careless remark revealed a lot of information to Wang Kuang, that is, this trip to Chang'an will not be too long, and it's likely that after asking some questions he will be allowed to return; also, his own weight in the hearts of the courtiers is still almost negligible, or if there is any, it's probably similar to that of a book clerk. It can be said that this trip to Chang'an is mainly for the sake of Empress Longsun. Li Er is now desperately seeking medical treatment.

  "Don't worry, angel. If I make that dish, I'll definitely have someone bring a portion to you. Our inn has been sending chili sauce to Chang'an every year, so it's easy to bring some food along."

  Wang Kuang's words made Xuguo turn from worry to joy, but he was also a bit skeptical: "Can this food really be transported all the way to Chang'an without spoiling?"

  "It won't be bad, and if this food is done well, as long as it's taken care of properly, the longer it sits, the more flavorful it will become. Just relax, angel."

  "It's all good, it's all good, then someone will wait for you." Xuguo got the message and smiled as he leaned in close to Wang Kuang's ear and whispered: "Second Brother will come find me at my place tonight, I have something to say." Wang Kuang nodded calmly.

  At this time, the soldiers had already tied up a group of thieves and strung them together in a row. Li Yexu assigned several soldiers and Tang Xing County officials to escort Xu Guoxu and Wang Kuang back to Tang Xing. Although it was easy to take down these thieves, it took nearly an hour from start to finish, and the thieves still needed to be taken to Tang Xing for trial. Moreover, the thieves' den had to be eliminated to prevent harm to others. Li Yexu led the remaining soldiers under Huang Da's guidance to eliminate the thieves' den. Here, they captured over 80 people, leaving only a dozen or so in the thieves' den. For the elite Tang Dynasty Youlin Army, sending 20-30 men to quell them was like using an axe to kill a chicken.

  The troops had not yet arrived at Tongxing, still more than ten miles away from the county seat. Xun Yu's son had already led the remaining officials to wait in ambush. Seeing the soldiers return triumphantly, they were overjoyed and relieved that their own mistakes had been minimized.

  They met and couldn't help but exchange pleasantries, Cen Yuzi grasped Wang Kuang's arm: "Second Brother has achieved a great merit this time, able to eliminate the cunning thief who had been hiding for many years, what a great achievement, what a great achievement!"

  "No, no, it's all due to your wise decision and the angel's proper command. Li School Lieutenant and the soldiers were brave, I just contributed a small idea, don't dare to take credit."

  "Hey, yes, if it weren't for your decisive and wise leadership, Lieutenant Li and the brave soldiers, it would be difficult to eliminate these bandits. However, your contribution is not small, and I will definitely not let it go unnoticed." Xu Guoxu saw Wang Kuang say this and thought of how Wang Kuang had taken good care of the Shen family, and how the Shen family had treated them with great hospitality yesterday. So he naturally went along with it and turned the Shen family's relatives into heroes. The soldiers on the side who heard this were also delighted, thinking that they would originally suffer on this trip, but unexpectedly gained such a great merit. Seeing Wang Kuang praise their bravery in front of everyone, they thought that this merit was definitely theirs for sure. They couldn't help but start daydreaming about being rewarded with a title when they returned. Those who had captured over a dozen bandits were already imagining the glory.

  "It's really unexpected, Erlang's method is indeed effective, I didn't think that the humble stove ash could be so useful." Xun Yu heard about what happened and couldn't help but praise: "They say you're a star from heaven descended to earth, but I think you're the Stove God descended to earth! Not only can you cook delicious food, but also make clever use of stove ash."

  I used the ash because you all look like decent people, but if this were to happen in the future, I would definitely choose quicklime. I'm not so kind to my enemies. Wang Kuang despised them in his heart, but he was humble on the surface.

  Back in the county, Tang Xing's people heard that they had eliminated a large den of thieves on Qixia Ridge. Everyone came out to watch the excitement and saw the thieves being led away in a row, not knowing who was leading them. They spat out mouthfuls of saliva, and for a while, it was non-stop. By the time they arrived at the government office, the thieves' faces were covered with a thick layer of sticky saliva. Wang Kuang didn't dare look, fearing he would vomit. Lin Xuanmu, on the other hand, had a somewhat more refined demeanor, stuffing his mouth with fried peanuts while watching with great interest.

  When the sky turned dark, Li Yexu brought back another group of thieves. The den was completely unguarded, thinking that this ambush was a sure thing. As for Huang Da cutting off Deng Zheng's head and running away earlier, they thought it was just because Huang Da was caught and held a grudge in his heart. When the soldiers rushed in to kill them, they saw Huang Da among them and were filled with regret, but by then it was too late.

  Division -

  Today is particularly gloomy, and every time I log in, there's an error.

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