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"Stop sleeping, stop sleeping, it’s time for food!"

In the prisoner of war area of the military camp outside Nanming Prefecture, a group of prisoners who had been disarmed were awakened by a loud voice.

They stood up groggily. Most of the new Golden Dragon Guards were recruits, having grown up around the Capital City, and most of them had never been on a boat before.

Now they were transported to Nan Ming in several boats and naturally suffered from seasickness.

Even after sleeping for an afternoon ashore, many of them had not recovered, but they were quickly attracted by a scent.

Descendants of noble blood were sensitive to high-quality meat.

Demon beast meat, which was rarely enjoyed at the sorcerer families, was used for nourishing the blood when attempting to break through bottlenecks.

It was a luxury. It was a mark of the wealth of Great Jin Country that the soldiers could have enough beef to eat during marching.

Initially, they thought that being captives would mean a period of miserable living, but to their surprise, they actually smelled meat with the fragrance of demon beast flesh!

A group of noble descendants immediately perked up, looking incredulously toward the front. The source of the scent came from several large barrels. There was already a long queue, with auxiliary soldiers, who had no noble bloodline, at the very front.

But incredibly, those two large barrels that gave off the delicious scent seemed to be intended for these prisoners!

Could this be real?

With the illusion that they might not have woken up fully, the bloodline soldiers nervously queued up. When they received a big bowl of the thick meat porridge handed to them, they ignored the scalding heat and gulped it down eagerly.

The thick aroma of rice, the indescribably delicious taste, the chewy texture of the meat, and the warmth that spread through the body after swallowing the porridge...

It couldn’t be mistaken, it was the quality of demon beast meat!

The descendents of noble blood stared at the two large barrels like wolves, their faces filled with disbelief!

Is this how Jiangnan treats its prisoners?

Ordinarily, captives should only be given gruel to keep them alive, so they wouldn’t have the energy to revolt, right?

It would be somewhat understandable if such preferential treatment were exclusively for them, descendants of noble blood... No, actually, it would still be incredibly puzzling. But at least... it might be conceivable. Why would ordinary civilians also get to enjoy such delicacies?

If not for the heavily sweating soldiers with knives watching them like tigers, they would certainly have stolen the auxiliary soldiers’ meat. How could these commoners deserve such a treat?

Several colonels found it unbelievable. Had Chen Qing gone mad? This kind of thing was a strategic resource in noble families, and now it was being used to feed prisoners and even auxiliary soldiers? There must be a limit to such wasteful extravagance...

Meanwhile, the ordinary soldiers were also trembling with apprehension but felt much better both spiritually and emotionally after having a bowl of meat porridge.

"Don’t worry, seeing this situation, it doesn’t look like they’re mistreating us as prisoners."

"Yeah..." A nearby auxiliary soldier nodded, "These soldiers are fierce on the battlefield, but quite polite otherwise. I bravely asked one of the young soldiers just now where the restroom was, and he led me there courteously. That attitude..."

The others nodded in agreement. The man serving the porridge, who seemed to be from a bloodline family, was very enthusiastic when serving them, afraid they wouldn’t eat their fill and intentionally scooped more meat for them.

Speaking of which, what kind of meat was this? It tasted even better than beef!

"I’ve never seen such gentle descendants of noble families in my life. No wonder they win battles," murmured one auxiliary soldier quietly.

The others had complicated expressions. As auxiliary soldiers in the military camp, they were like servants to the bloodline descendants.

Encountering those with bad temperaments meant being subjected to kicks, beatings, and humiliations, and there were cruel ones who exploited practice as an excuse for various abuses, leading to deaths from bullying.

Some veteran soldiers couldn’t refute this point. Indeed, even the slightly more amiable descendants were rarely as polite as those here, especially the way they looked at them, as if... looking at another person...

Suddenly, after hesitating for a while, a veteran soldier spoke, "I think I just... saw Gu Bei."

"Huh?" The group furrowed their brows. Who was Gu Bei?

Several auxiliary soldiers of the same age as that veteran couldn’t help but be astonished, "What did you say?"

"Gu Bei..." the veteran pointed to the southwest corner, "Over there, in the silver armor, walking around with a dozen strong men."

"You must be joking. That’s Gu Bei?" They looked in the direction he pointed and saw a burly man over nine feet tall with a heroic stature, commanding a dozen formidable men, those who could knock down demon horses with a single punch on the battlefield.

They knew Gu Bei; they had all been soldiers in the north together. Gu Bei had decisively retired once his service ended and, it was rumored, went to Jiangnan to start a courier service, later becoming a maritime merchant running ships...

How had he ended up a soldier again, and for the rebels no less?

The key question was... how could that be him? So tall and imposing, able to command soldiers who could overpower noble descendants!

"Must be a mistake?"

"Hmm... probably a mistake..." The veteran who had first spoken was also doubtful because Gu Bei had been oppressed by noble descendants in the north and had retired to take up the courier business. If he had such capabilities, how could he have been so mistreated at that time?

But the resemblance was uncanny. Gu Bei was a hero from the neighboring village, and several of the local strong youths had agreed to enlist together.

"Colonel Gu Bei!"

Just as they were thinking that there were many in the world who looked alike and were about to dismiss it, a voice suddenly made them freeze again.

"Major Fei Hu is calling for you."

"Oh, sure!" Gu Bei grinned broadly and hurriedly led his men off. After a few steps, he noticed the group of old soldiers who had been watching him, first frowning slightly, then suddenly breaking into an excited expression, "Uncle Zhang? What are you guys doing here? Weren’t you in the north?"

The men stared blankly at him, recognizing the familiar voice in a moment of realization.

It really was Gu Bei!

"Gu Bei... you... you joined the army here?" the one called Uncle Zhang asked with a dry throat.

"Yeah, don’t you recognize me?" Gu Bei laughed heartily, "Well, I guess not, I have put on quite a bit of weight recently."

You call this putting on weight?

Old Zhang’s eyes bulged in disbelief. This guy had clearly beefed up to double his size, for goodness’ sake!

"Right, Old Zhang, have a look. Remember this kid?" Gu Bei casually pulled over a robust soldier from nearby, patting his head as he asked.

The young, burly lad was obviously much younger and somewhat shy: "Zhang... Uncle Zhang..."

His immature voice, calling ’Uncle Zhang’, instantly stirred excitement in Old Zhang: "You are... Little Blackie?"

The other’s voice, demeanor, and even the dark complexion immediately reminded him of a certain figure, a particular frail boy sniffling and insisting on joining the military with them long ago...

"Alright, Old Zhang, we’ll chat later. I’m off to find out what the general wants from me."

"Oh, sure, sure..." Old Zhang nodded repeatedly.

Once the group had walked away, a soldier approached Old Zhang and asked, "Old Zhang... do you know him?"

"Know him... I guess..." Old Zhang was somewhat incredulous, still finding it hard to believe that the two hulking figures, more formidable than bears on the battlefield, were actually Gu Bei and Little Blackie?

What on earth... was going on here?

------------------------------------

"General, please eat something..."

Inside a campground, within a tent of special standards, lay a tall and mighty strong man.

His upper body naked, he was bandaged around the chest, which sported a conspicuous patch of blackish-red blood seeping through, but there were no signs of severe bleeding, likely due to some medicinal herbs applied.

A middle-aged man dressed in the attire of a scholar was persuading him, "I’ve tested this porridge.

It should have a very nourishing effect on descendants of the bloodline like yourself.

Though, it seems Chen Qing doesn’t find this stuff unusual; I toured around just now, and this is what everyone in the camp is eating. "

Weichi Peng glanced at the millet porridge, richly fragrant, but he felt no appetite whatsoever.

The persuader was none other than Luo Yi, the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Rites. Seeing Weichi Peng still spaced out, he sighed, "General, victory and defeat are common in warfare. It’s good that you’re alive. Why adopt such a demeanour?"

Weichi Peng looked at him and said gruffly, "This is the first time in my life... I’ve been a prisoner..."

"Who doesn’t have their first time?" Luo Yi chuckled, "That surely doesn’t mean to stop living, does it?"

Weichi Peng sighed deeply, "It’s humiliating..."

"Losing to Xuu Hu is no shame..."

A voice came from outside the tent. Both men looked over and saw a man dressed in black who had entered at some point.

Both Weichi Peng and Luo Yi were taken aback.

The man they recognized was Wei Gongcheng, but what astonished them was the way he had come in.

For fear of Weichi Peng catching a chill, the tent’s curtains were drawn. One would have to pull them aside to enter, yet this man had appeared before them quite suddenly.

Weichi Peng hadn’t seen how the other man had entered, and Luo Yi hadn’t either because his approach must have been magical in nature. Yet, despite being a First Rank Magician himself, he hadn’t felt anything!

Seeing Weichi Peng at a loss, Wei Gongcheng didn’t seem to care and simply sat down with a jug of wine, uncorked it, and the fragrance immediately revived the wilted Weichi Peng, making him sit up straight.

"Hongshen Wine, a new specialty from Daqing Mountain in Lyuzhou. Quite good," Wei Gongcheng smiled, placing the jug down and pouring a cup for Weichi Peng, "It revitalizes and strengthens one’s spirit and is currently the most popular wine among the War God Army."

Weichi Peng couldn’t resist the allure of the aroma and took the cup, pouring the contents into his mouth. Luo Yi frowned at this, knowing that injured people shouldn’t drink alcohol, as he was fairly knowledgeable in medical theory from his magical training.

But for some reason, watching Weichi Peng down the drink and seeing his spirit improve dramatically, he grew curious about the wine.

He who usually abstained from drinking could not help but lick his lips, feeling that the beverage might even be beneficial for Magicians!

"Great wine!" Weichi Peng praised, "It’s even better than the Snow Fragrance from Jiangnan that made its way to the Capital City. This is called Hongshen Wine?"

Wei Gongcheng nodded with a smile, pouring a cup for Luo Yi as well, "Would you like a cup, Minister Luo?"

"Thank you..." Luo Yi’s eyes sparked as he eagerly accepted, taking a small sip only to feel as if he were floating.

Excellent stuff!

This wasn’t just delicious – it seemed to saturate his energy in a profoundly comforting way. He was certain that the wine had restorative effects on Spiritual Power, even more luxurious than the top secret remedies of the Sorcerer Family!

"You’ve also become stronger," Weichi Peng observed, looking at Wei Gongcheng, "I didn’t even see how you came in."

"Just a little trick..." Wei Gongcheng said with a smile.

"Little trick?" Weichi Peng chuckled, "A ’little trick’ that allows one to appear so suddenly within three feet of me without being detected is rather unnerving."

Wei Gongcheng said no more, pouring himself a cup and savoring a sip.

His own Wei Family had actually produced a master brewer, something he hadn’t expected.

"Between you and that Xuu Hu, who’s more formidable now?" Weichi Peng asked.

"How to put it..." Wei Gongcheng set down his cup, "General Xuu Hu is a War God, specializing in warfare and slaughter. In terms of sheer fighting power, he’s a bit stronger."

"A bit stronger?" Weichi Peng squinted at Wei Gongcheng.

After a year... Gongcheng... had changed a lot.