noffsinger Chapter 1348: Company Commanders’ Wives
Chapter 1348: Company Commanders’ Wives
"Brother! I’ve come to see you off!" Just as they stepped out of the Military Office gate, they heard Guo Qiang shouting excitedly. He was in full armor, riding over on horseback, high-spirited and full of vigor.
But the ground was slippery with snow and his horse wasn’t very steady; it nearly slipped and fell. Fortunately, Guo Qiang reacted quickly and hurriedly swung himself off the horse, thus resolving the danger.
The soldiers of the Military Office burst into loud laughter at the sight.
Guo Qiang’s face flushed red; he felt utterly embarrassed. After pulling the horse back, he lifted his foot, about to kick it.
Qin San Lang hurried to stop him: "Stop. A horse is your lifelong comrade-in-arms, how can you punish it over an accident?!"
"Yes, I understand." Guo Qiang was very obedient to Qin San Lang; he immediately put his foot down, led the horse over at a run, looked up at Qin San Lang and said, "Brother, I already talked to my mother. She agreed to let me escort you as far as Luan’an County. I can travel with you for a whole day!"
Seeing his happy face, Qin San Lang nodded and said, "Mm, since Aunt agreed, then mount up and let’s get moving."
They had to arrive before dawn on the twentieth; otherwise it would be considered delaying military affairs, and they would be punished under military law.
"Yes!" Guo Qiang swung himself onto the horse and followed beside Qin San Lang, riding forward with great swagger.
After galloping for more than two quarters of an hour and reaching the main road, he followed Qin San Lang, spurred on his horse, and came up alongside the carriage where Gu Jinli was seated, greeting her: "Sister-in-law, I’ve come to see you off."
Gu Jinli lifted the thick carriage curtain and, looking at the slightly silly, still somewhat childish Guo Qiang, said with a smile, "Thank you for your trouble, coming all this way in such cold weather to see us off."
Patting his chest, Guo Qiang said, "It’s no trouble at all. I’m already a grown man now. Before long I’ll be going to the Northwest with Brother San Lang to fight the Rong people and defend our borders!"
Gu Jinli almost burst out laughing; you’re only twelve, and you’re calling yourself a grown man already?
But she didn’t want to dampen Guo Qiang’s spirits, so she only smiled and said, "All right, I’ll be waiting for the day you become a Great General and lead troops to the Northwest."
Hearing this, Guo Qiang straightened his back, posing like a general, and said, "Don’t worry, Sister-in-law, I will definitely lead troops to the Northwest to find you!"
Then he suddenly asked, "Sister-in-law, that chubby kid called Yuanyuan from the Shang Family, is he really a boy?"
Gu Jinli was startled and looked at Guo Qiang: "Who did you hear that from? You think she’s a boy? She’s always wearing skirts and dressing like a girl."
You can’t even see that?
And when did you two even get acquainted?
Guo Qiang said, "He told me himself. He said that although he dresses as a girl, he’s actually a real boy. It’s just that his mother likes daughters, so he dresses as a girl to fulfill her wish, since his name is Yuanyuan."
He scratched his head again and said, "But I think he seems more like a girl. I couldn’t tell if he’s a boy or a girl, so I came to ask you, Sister-in-law."
This time when he came to drink Brother San Lang and Sister-in-law’s wedding wine, he happened to run into Shang Yuanyuan again. He felt that since it was already their second meeting, they now counted as acquaintances, so he greeted her and called her "fat girl."
But just like last time, she got very angry and in the end said she wasn’t a girl, she was a boy!
He’d been scared silly on the spot.
Gu Jinli wanted to find a wall to bang her head against. Ah Qiang, you’re really too slow. Everyone knows she’s a girl; she just spouted a few nonsense words and you believed her?
Qin San Lang also found Guo Qiang unbearably dense, actually being fooled by a child like Yuanyuan. He said, "You talk too much. Move it. I want to talk to your sister-in-law."
Although Guo Qiang really wanted to know whether Yuanyuan was a boy or a girl, he listened to Qin San Lang. He gave an "oh," obediently rode off on his horse.
Gu Jinli was practically dying of laughter, but she didn’t dare laugh out loud for fear of embarrassing Guo Qiang.
Seeing her struggling not to laugh, Qin San Lang couldn’t help but smile as well. After she’d laughed for a while, he said, "Enough, stop laughing or you’ll get a stitch."
Gu Jinli nodded and, after taking a few deep breaths, finally suppressed her laughter: "Ah Qiang is an honest kid; his nature is too simple. That won’t do, if he’s going to command troops someday. You need to teach him what it means that in war, trickery is never in excess."
She was someone who repaid kindness with kindness and resentment in kind. Since Guo Qiang trusted Qin San Lang so much and treated him like an elder brother, they should treat Guo Qiang well in return.
Qin San Lang nodded: "Don’t worry. On our wedding day I left him a copy of a military book I wrote from memory, and I also told him to spend more time with your brother and Young Master Dou, to learn what it means to be crafty."
Otherwise, with Guo Qiang’s temperament, once he’s on the battlefield there might not even be enough left of him for a whole corpse.
He had also entrusted him to Good Brother An and Dou Ke; both had agreed they would give Guo Qiang a hard time to toughen him up.
He then asked with concern, "Are you still comfortable sitting? Are you cold?"
The weather was terrible; just thinking about her braving wind, snow, and danger to follow him to the Northwest made his heart ache in waves.
Leaning on the carriage window, Gu Jinli looked up at him and smiled: "I’m not cold. You’ve laid thick furs inside; I’m very comfortable. If I get tired of sitting, I can even lie down, so there’s no need to worry."
This carriage had been specially modified by her father according to her instructions, built with a double-layered compartment with a layer of straw stuffed in between; it was very warm.
After hearing this, Qin San Lang felt a bit more at ease. He knocked on the carriage and said to Erqing and the others, "Keep an eye on the stove at all times. If anything goes wrong, you’ll be punished under military law!"
Xiao Yu was his life; the servants absolutely had to take good care of her, otherwise they couldn’t blame him for being ruthless.
"Yes, this slave obeys." Erqing answered.
Xiao Ji was so frightened she nearly died, her body trembling a few times, until Nanny Tao slapped her and said, "With such a tiny bit of courage, how are you going to look after Madam in the future? If you can’t manage, you’ll be replaced."
Xiao Ji hurriedly sat up straight and, imitating Erqing, said, "This slave obeys!"
Her voice was loud and firm; Gu Jinli was very satisfied to hear it. She was quite fond of Xiao Ji; Xiao Ji was loyal and clever, only her temper was a bit too lively, but that could be corrected.
Gu Jinli looked at Qin San Lang: "All right, you’ve heard and seen it yourself, you can stop worrying. Go on, you’re a Company Commander and need to lead your soldiers. Don’t worry too much about my side; I can take care of myself and the soldiers’ families."
He only felt more distressed: "Let Aunt Xiong look after them. You just rest properly in the carriage, don’t overexert yourself."
Gu Jinli laughed and poked his face with her finger: "What silly things you’re saying. Go on already."
His soldiers were going to risk their lives for him; naturally she had to take good care of their families.
Qin San Lang took her hand; seeing the way she tilted her face up to look at him made his heart skip. He really wanted to lean down and kiss her, but in the end he held back, released her hand, and said, "Behave yourself. If anything happens, call for me."
He paused for a moment, and only after Gu Jinli nodded did he spur his horse away.
Seeing that he had returned to the formation, Guo Qiang asked, "Brother, that fat kid with the surname Shang, is he a boy or a girl?"
Qin San Lang didn’t even glance at him, only said, "If you want to know, find a way to figure it out yourself."
He didn’t give Guo Qiang the answer; from this moment he began training Guo Qiang’s mind and methods.
He hadn’t expected that Guo Qiang would be so rash. When he went back to Qingfu Town to fetch Madam Guo, he ran straight to Shang Family Village to ask Shang Yuanyuan directly, alarming half the people in the village. Madam Guo was so furious she gave him a beating, then tied him up and took him to the Shang Family home to apologize to Scholar Shang.
But that’s all in the future; right now, Guo Qiang was still feeling wronged that Qin San Lang wouldn’t tell him the answer.
...
On the road, where the cold wind cut to the bone, Qin San Lang led the soldiers and the Gu Family convoy, driving forward without pause toward Luan’an County. They finally arrived outside the Military Office of Luan’an County before dawn on the twentieth.
The Military Office in Luan’an County was brightly lit, with bonfires burning both inside and outside the camp. Around the fires stood groups of people carrying pots and pans on their backs, with dried rations and bedding hanging from them.
These were the family members of soldiers from other Military Offices.
Besides these family members, there were also the Company Commanders’ Wives from various counties.
Some of these wives were poor and had only handcarts; the wealthy ones rode in carriages and mule carts, and the convoys they brought were even larger than Gu Jinli’s.