Chapter Thirty-two: The Three Inextinguishable Fires

  As for Li Ji, Du He was quite familiar with him.

  His talent and feats need no further elaboration, but precisely because of his extraordinary prowess, many people have demonized this renowned general into an unbeatable sage.

  In terms of character, he is also a perfect and flawless person. Not only is he loyal to the emperor and righteous with friends, but he is also good at discovering, caring for, promoting, recommending, and appointing talented people. As early as the beginning of the Wagang Temple uprising, he discovered talents such as Wei Zheng, Gao Jiufu, and Du Zhenglun. In the Tang Dynasty, he also discovered Zhang Wenguan, Liu Yanju, and others.

  All of them were promoted by him and showed extremely high talent one after another.

  Especially Wei Zheng, Gao Jiufu, Du Zhenglun and Zhang Wentai, their final achievements were all prime ministers of the country. One person promoted four prime ministers, which shows that he was very accurate in identifying people!

  It is absolutely a delightful thing to work under such an excellent person.

  After entering the imperial palace, they dispersed one after another.

  Du Ruohui was a high-ranking official, so he naturally went to the imperial palace. Du Gong was a Shangshu Zhongsi Lang, temporarily without the right to participate in national affairs, so he went to the Zhongshu Province.

  Du He went naturally to Xuanwu Gate, the camp of the Left Wuwei.

  Arriving at Xuanwu Gate, he was worried about what to do next, when someone called out from behind him. It turned out to be Li Jingye, the grandson of Li Ji and one of his close friends.

  "What are you doing here?" Du He was somewhat surprised and unexpected.

  "Impossible!" Li Jingye took a step back, "You and I are both deputy generals of the Left Weiwei Army, don't you remember?"

  "Hmm..." Du He only remembered that this group had mentioned it at the banquet of Empress Changsun, but at the time there were too many introductions and he could only recall their names and faces, as for their official positions, they had long been forgotten.

  He heaved a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "You've come at the right time! I was worried about how to get out of here!"

  Under Li Jingye's leadership, Du He arrived at the Left Weiwei Army Yamen, where brave warriors stood all around.

  As soon as he entered the government office, he saw Li Ji sitting in the main seat from a distance, with many armored men already kneeling beside him.

  At first glance, Li Ji indeed doesn't have much of a general's demeanor, and his slender and weak appearance makes him look more like a scholar.

  "Newly appointed Zuwei Wei Zhonglang General Du He pays his respects to the Great General of Zuwei Wei!" Du He gave a grand military salute, quite majestic and with great general demeanor!

  Li Jiye also bowed at the same time, but looked like a side general next to Du He.

  "No need for formalities! Sit down, let's get started!" The usually affable and amiable general, now expressionless, slightly nodded at Du He and pointed to the seat beside him, indicating for him to continue.

  Following Li Ji's gesture, he knelt down and sat on one side, but saw Li Jingye sitting at his upper seat. He felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, thinking that this guy was his follower, how could he be above him?

  No way, wait for him to return the money, teach him a lesson, let him know that I'm the greatest among the younger generation!

  Sneaking a glance around, I found quite a few familiar faces.

  Li Ji then went through the list one by one, assigning tasks and positions, and each of the generals received their orders and set out.

  Division of labor is in place, and Li Ji's achievements are indeed not undeserved.

  Du He couldn't help but feel a little impressed. Before long, the hall became empty, with only Li Ji and Li Jingye left besides him.

  Sitting upright in his seat, not moving a single thread, yet he could sense the gaze of General Li Ji, like lightning, scanning him back and forth, as if there was some other meaning behind it.

  After a while, Li Ji got up and came before him, smiling: "Get up!"

  "Yes!" He quickly stood up, standing straight. Du He was 15 years old this year, but he also had a height of nearly 1 meter 6 or 7. In the future, growing to 1 meter 76 or 1 meter 8 is not a problem, which is considered tall in the Tang Dynasty.

  Li Ji squinted his eyes, nodded in approval and said: "No wonder both the Emperor and General Li have repeatedly instructed me to nurture you well, saying that you are a unique individual with a bit of the air of a great general."

  The one who spoke was Du He, and the Emperor naturally knew who it was. But as for that General Li, who would have thought he could see through Xiao Ye's potential? He has some insight; I'll have to find an opportunity to share a couple of drinks with him!

  "Great General's undeserved praise!" Du He also seemed neither arrogant nor humble.

  "Since you just arrived today, I won't arrange any tasks for you. Let Jingye show you around and get familiar with the military affairs!" Li Ji seemed very open-minded, as if he didn't plan to bully this newcomer!

  After reminding Li Jingye a few times, he dropped Du He and others and left directly.

  Li Jingye took Du He to the military camp in the northern suburbs of the city and introduced him to everything in the camp along the way.

  After listening to Li Jingye's introduction, Du He only knew that he had a thousand soldiers under his command, with various divisions of labor. There was one left Lang general, one right Lang general, one soldier Cao Canjun, ten traveling generals, twenty team leaders, twenty deputy team leaders... Three hundred people formed a group, each group governed two traveling groups, one hundred people formed a traveling group, with one traveling general. Each traveling group governed two teams, fifty people formed a team, with one team leader. Each team governed five fires, ten people formed a fire, with one fire chief.

  Arriving at a military camp, Li Jingye pointed at the camp and said: "This is Qinglian's campsite, everything inside belongs to you!"

  Du He rode on horseback, narrowing his eyes to look ahead, and saw the mountains of knives and seas of spears on both sides flashing with golden light under the morning sun, while the guarding soldiers stood solemnly lined up on both sides, exuding a stern and murderous aura.

  Du He and Li Jingye were lingering outside the camp when a sentinel shouted: "Are you Du Zhonglangjiang?"

  Not bad, it seems like I've already received the notice and know that I'll be taking over as their leader.

  "I am Du He!" He rode his horse forward a step and said proudly.

  "Du Zhonglang will be back soon, I'll go and inform him right away!"

  Before long, a dark-faced strong man led more than ten people to come flying. Approaching, the strong man raised his hand to stop the momentum of others from continuing to advance, and the horse stopped as soon as it was said, showing extremely high riding skills.

  A burly man with a dark face dismounted and approached Du He, followed by the others. They walked up to him on foot and saluted: "Junior General Zuo Lang Jiang Wang Dezheng pays his respects to Central General Du."

  Du He also got off his horse and helped Wang Dezheng up.

  From Li Jingye's words, it can be known that the left and right Lang in the military camp will be his deputies. If you want to dominate this army, the relationship between these two hands is not good!

  Du He personally helped Wang Dezheng up, and from his eyes, Du He saw some surprise!

  What's going on?

  He had doubts in his mind, but he didn't express them.

  Under Wang Dezheng's leadership, Du He and Li Jingye walked into the military camp, entered the grand tent, and officials of all levels paid their respects one after another.

  In the face of enthusiasm from various officials, Du Hehuo was puzzled.

  "Gentlemen, I'd like to show you the elite of our army's Winged Forest Guards. Shall we?" Du He waved his hand, giving the signal for inspection.

  "General, you will be obeyed!" Wang Dezheng shouted loudly, "Please move your headquarters to the drill ground."

  With a suspicious heart, Du He arrived at the school field.

  "Beat the drum!" Wang Dezheng raised his hand majestically.

  The war drums beat loudly, shaking everyone's heartstrings.

  The Youlin Army did not disappoint its reputation, marching swiftly. Before the third drumbeat, every soldier was already prepared and standing at attention, each one gazing at Du He with admiring eyes towards their new commander!

  "From today on, I, Du He, will be your new commander!" Du He had just said a sentence.

  A thousand soldiers raised their weapons one by one, cheering loudly, the sound of their voices thundering and shaking the air, reaching up to the clouds, shocking the surrounding area. They gave a warm welcome to their new commander.

  Faced with this situation, Du He was unexpectedly stunned.

  What's going on?

  As the saying goes, a new official takes office and fires three shots. According to common sense, these old soldiers should be disobedient at first, and then they themselves will be fired three times, making them obedient.

  This is in line with the script.

  Suddenly, upon entering this military camp, each and every one of these fierce soldiers is as gentle as a kitten!

  Three fires that I had prepared long ago couldn't be lit after all.