The Wife is First

Chapter 47

“Military advisor, what is this?” Zhao Meng looked uncomprehendingly at the cross which Mu Hanzhang had drawn.

“This formation is called the rushing yoke,” Mu Hanzhang said slowly, pointing the stick at the four points of the cross. “The soldiers are split and placed in the four corners, and still march in a long line formation. The front, left and right all face forward, and you will have both offense and defense.” 

Mu Hanzhang just smiled and didn’t say anything. 

“I told you to read more before, but you pretended not to hear me.” Jing Shao also knew this rushing yoke formation, but there was no record of it in common books on the art of war. How did Jun Qing, who had never read military books, know it? He was shocked, but on the surface, looked as if it was to be expected. Jing Shao pulled his family’s military advisor to his side and said, “I’ll be leaving with the military advisor tomorrow to do something nearby. You lead the troops ahead first, and we’ll catch up in a few days.”

“What does Wang Ye need to do?” Zhao Meng looked at Jing Shao disapprovingly. It wasn’t a good thing for the commander in chief to leave an army halfway through a march.

“This matter is very important for the war in the southwest. All of you must keep a careful eye on everything in these few days. Make sure there isn’t any trouble.” Jing Shao faked a laugh. He obviously didn’t want to talk too much about it, and the few people who were present tactfully shut up.

Outside the tent, Mu Hanzhang asked suspiciously, “Where are we going tomorrow?” 

“To find secret treasure.” Jing Shao’s lips curled up and he smiled mysteriously.

Mu Hanzhang glanced at him before turning toward his own tent, and the Wang Ye conscientiously followed behind him.

“Why did you follow me in again?” Mu Hanzhang looked helplessly at the guy who was lying on his bed. After the military advisor’s tent was set up next to the imperial tent, Jing Shao hadn’t slept in the imperial tent since. He would sneak into the military advisor’s tent in the middle of the night at first, but now he would brazenly waltz in and refuse to leave.

“I’ll go back later,” said Jing Shao. Holding the hand of the man in front of him, he pulled Mu Hanzhang into his arms. “I really do have something to ask you.” 

Mu Hanzhang rolled his eyes. Who would hug the military advisor in his arms while discussing proper business?

Seeing his expression, Jing Shao couldn’t help but lean over and kiss him. “Have you read books on war? This rushing yoke formation can’t be found in the ‘Statutes of Dachen’.”

When Mu Hanzhang heard this question, the smile on his face faded slightly. “I read books on war when I was young.” When he was a child, he learned to read at an early age and had a good memory, so he often read some other books after completing his assignments. At that time, his father was often irritated and sighed incessantly when he saw how his son from his first wife was so arrogant and wilful as well as ignorant and incompetent, so Mu Hanzhang secretly learned some military techniques in the hope that his father would one day dislike his son from his first wife and think about him instead. It was only when he was older that he realized that illegitimate commoner sons couldn’t inherit noble titles at all. Even if he was ten or even twenty times better than Mu Lingbao, his father would still never treat them equally.

Jing Shao heard this, and only felt his heart ache incessantly – truly a diamond in the rough; was this not a great pity? 

“Actually, I saw you when I was a kid.” Feeling Jing Shao’s arms gradually tighten around him, Mu Hanzhang put his chin on his shoulder with a smile. At that time, the Emperor had put on plain clothes and gone to the North Marquis’s residence incognito to play chess with Mu Hanzhang’s father, and had brought the little third prince with him. Mu Hanzhang’s Mother had allowed only Mu Lingbao to play with Jing Shao. Mu Hanzhang had wanted to see what the prince looked like, but wasn’t allowed to go over; he could only hide behind some rocks and watch them play in the garden.