"Uh... I have nothing to do recently. I read "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu." Qiao Rui smiled awkwardly.

Yuan Shu nodded in affirmation: "For a general, strategy comes first, and bravery comes second. Sun Bofu is only twenty years old, and he is already so accustomed to fighting. If you don't improve in time, it will be easy for the juniors to catch up."

"The last general is too stupid to dare to compete with Sun Bofu."

Qiao Rui clasped her fists humbly, then changed the subject and said: "General Wu..."

"Just because of the initial appointment of Kuaiji, Sun Ce asked Wu Jing to ask for money and food to support the army, but now Ji Ling is using troops in Xiaopei, and the betrothal gift to Lu Bu is..." Yuan Shu's face changed as he said this.

Seeing this, Qiao Rui hurriedly knelt down and bowed down, and said in a very sincere tone: "The general's failure to control me has caused the grain ship to be burned. I am here to apologize to my lord."

"Why are you here again? Why don't you get up quickly? The blame for this matter is not yours. Didn't you say that you will wait for Long Xiang to return and then convict you?" Yuan Shu frowned.

Qiao Rui knelt down, clasped his fists and replied: "Reporting to my lord, the guilty general Long Xiang has returned. The last general is here to ask for instructions."

Yuan Shu was a little surprised, thinking that after waiting for half a month, this guy finally came back to life?

Seeing the dark sky outside the window, he got down from his seat and raised the bridge, saying: "It's getting late today. Let's bring him to the palace tomorrow morning and let the ministers discuss it before making a decision."

"Long Xiang made a big mistake. In the afternoon, the last general executed a military law in front of all the generals. He was beaten with twenty military sticks until his flesh and blood were bloody. Now Long Xiang only has half his life left. I'm afraid he may not be able to explain much tomorrow...

"

Qiao Rui observed Yuan Shu's face as he spoke. When he saw the regretful expression on his face, he knew that Long Xiang had something to do with this matter.

"Are you saying that your subordinates are incompetent? I remember that this child is only a teenager, right?"

"I am sixteen years old this year. His father was once a captain of the last general. A few years ago, in Fengqiu, in order to cover the retreat of the main force, he led his troops to retreat and died in a fierce battle. He left behind such an only son..."

Yuan Shu understood now that Qiao Rui was going around the corner to plead with his generals, so he stroked his beard and asked: "I heard that this son is always at the rear in every battle, and he hasn't received any military honors yet?"

"I felt guilty towards Long Yuan at the end, and raised him at home as my nephew for two years. Later, I was worried that Long Xiang would be injured if he fought hard on the battlefield because he was young, so I incorporated him into the rear army, so he would have no chance to get military honors.

." Qiaorui lowered his head in embarrassment.

Yuan Shu said with a serious expression: "It is said that loving a son is like killing one. You must learn from Sun Jian on this point. See how powerful Sun Ce is now? A strong general is fed with blood."

"The general will finally realize his mistake." Qiao Rui cupped his fists and bowed again.

"It's also my fault that I listened to Han Yin and made an exception to promote Long Xiang to the army Sima. It seems that this boy is not a good general. He should be a good person. If his virtue is not matched, there will be disaster. The ancients will not deceive me..." Yuan Shu shook his head with emotion.

.

Qiao Rui didn't know what he meant, so he raised his head and asked in a low voice: "How to deal with Long Xiang, please let me know..."

"Based on Han Yin's letter, it seems that Chen Yu has been planning for a long time. Long Xiang himself has few soldiers and little experience, so his improper response can avoid the death penalty. In addition, this person is the orphan of a loyal minister, and you have beaten him with twenty army sticks.

Let's just forget about it..."

"never mind?"

Qiao Rui's eyes widened and she didn't believe her own eyes.

Yuan Shu nodded and added: "The wall cannot be held up by mud. It seems that the military commander is not qualified for his job. In addition, most of his soldiers have been lost. How about returning to the position of Marquis of Qu?"

"Thank you, Lord, for your kindness. I will definitely train you well and develop him into a useful talent in the future."

Qiao Rui was overjoyed when he heard this and said that it would be great if he could save his life. It didn't matter whether he wanted a military position or not.

"Go back, don't be too reluctant, remember to love your son as much as you kill your son." Yuan Shu warned again.

"yes."

Qiao Rui nodded solemnly, thinking that given his master's attitude, Long Xiang would have no hope of promotion in the future. He would give him some advice after he recovered from his injuries, and maybe he could find another way to get ahead.

It was already dark when Qiao Rui returned home. Mrs. Chen hurriedly asked the kitchen to prepare the meal, and called her children who had already eaten to chat and eat with Qiao Rui.

"General, I'm back. You haven't been at home these past few days, and I always feel empty."

While pouring wine, Mrs. Chen gestured with her eyes to her children to speak.

The eldest sister, Qiao Wei, was the first to speak: "My child saw his father's eyebrows tightening. Should the matter with Long Xiang have been dealt with? It is reasonable for you to worry about this man for several days and give him twenty military sticks."

"Twenty military sticks? The flesh must be beaten to pieces?" Qiao Wan swallowed his saliva.

Qiao Wei said disapprovingly: "Wei Li said it in an understatement. It must be because one of our own people is not ruthless. Can twenty army sticks be used to bleed?"

When Qiao Rui heard this, he raised the cup and swallowed the drink with a solemn expression.

"You don't know anything. When the military law was enforced against Long Xiang, my father invited the general from another camp to watch the ceremony. Not only were the twenty military sticks not fake, but they were stronger than usual. Now Yun Qi's back is connected with cloth.

Meat, probably not a good piece of meat..."

"ah?"

Qiao Wan put away her hands when she heard this, and immediately had a picture in her mind. The younger brother Qiao Wan next to her swallowed hard, obviously also received a big surprise.

I vaguely remember that Long Xiang was accompanying Qiao Niao every day without saying a word. Why did such a big change happen just after being apart for a year?

Among the three siblings, only the eldest sister Qiao Wei was the calmest. Although her heart palpitated after hearing this, her pretty face did not change color.

"That is his own fault. If he had practiced his skills well before, how could he have caused such a disaster? Instead, his father was worried..."

After hearing this, Qiao Rui pointed to her forehead: "It's over now. Yun Qi, this boy, is barely able to command an army, but his mind is extremely flexible. Don't you know that those twenty military sticks were actually requested by him?"

"Asking for a beating? Is he out of his mind?"

Qiao Wan scratched his head and looked puzzled, while the two sisters looked at Qiao Rui because they wanted to find out the reason.

Qiao Rui stroked his beard and smiled slightly: "Yunqi was punished with the military stick first, and his life experience is lonely and pitiful. How can my lord have the heart to punish him severely? He will only be surrendered to Quhou..."

"Master, is he so easy to talk to?"

Chen's face was full of doubts, thinking that with Yuan Shu's personality, how could he sympathize with the low-level warriors? Could it be because of his husband?

"My husband is also a little surprised." Qiao Rui nodded lightly.

Mrs. Chen didn't want Qiao Rui to waste any more favors on Long Xiang, so she picked up the wine glass and softly advised him: "Long Yuan used to fight to the death to protect him. Today, the general will get rid of the death penalty for his son. The past kindness has been wiped out. The general will just treat it as ordinary in the future."

There is no need to treat generals as caringly as before..."

"Why?" Qiao Rui frowned.

Mrs. Chen pressed Qiao Rui's chest and explained softly: "One person's heart is so big. If the general gives more to outsiders, the concubine and children will lose one. Just like if we haven't returned home these days and nights, we

They are all very worried about the general. In addition, Miao'er is getting older and has to think more about his future..."

"Madam, you have worked hard to take care of your children. I will pay more attention to you in the future..."

When Qiao Rui nodded in response, the corner of her eye fell on her youngest son Qiao Min, and she instantly remembered Yuan Shu's words, "To love a son is like killing a son", and immediately waved to Qiao Min.

"Yun Qi was seriously injured by the stick. Tomorrow I will get some ointment from my house and follow my father to visit him in the camp."
Chapter completed!