Chapter 46: Sharpening the Axe Does Not Delay the Work of Cutting Wood

The next day, Wei Xiao indeed left Wangjiang City as promised, and the garrison troops did not dare to stop her at all, respectfully escorting her and an elderly gentleman out of the city.

"Allow me to make the introduction. This is Master Ying Mo, a renowned Confucian scholar of Wangjiang. His scholarship is famous throughout the northern border, and his disciples are everywhere under the heavens. Even Lord Li Xianxin, the Imperial Censor of Wangjiang, is his student."

Luo Fang and the others quickly bowed in respect.

Although they were military men, all people of the Central Plains held a natural reverence for scholars. Knowing they were rough men, they instinctively respected learned individuals, let alone such a universally renowned great Confucian.

Ying Mo showed no airs at all, stroking his beard with a smile.

"Very well, the military situation in Dongping is urgent right now, and we have no time for lengthy formalities. Let's dispense with all of that."

Xue Chengqian instantly felt a surge of goodwill toward this great Confucian, which somewhat altered his impression of the "scholars" of the Great Liang dynasty.

From what he had previously seen and heard, he had thought that the so-called scholar-bureaucrats were merely bloodsuckers clinging to Great Liang, doing everything solely to elevate their own status.

For Ying Mo to speak such words demonstrated a remarkably pragmatic style.

"Miss Wei, during your activities in the city yesterday, did you achieve any results?"

Wei Xiao smiled and said, "Didn't I just invite Elder Ying out? Furthermore, Censor Li holds my father in high regard and said he will definitely go to the city governor's mansion to persuade Lu Xiaoyuan to change his mind as much as possible."

Luo Fang and the others were greatly encouraged.

Although they already knew Lu Xiaoyuan's stance, the status of an Imperial Censor was by no means trivial. He was the eyes and ears planted by the imperial court in Wangjiang City, and he enjoyed the support of the majority of the literati.

Lu Xiaoyuan could treat their pleas for reinforcement as child's play, but he could never simply ignore the words of Li Xianxin.

To their surprise, Ying Mo smiled and shook his head instead.

"Miss Wei, from this old man's perspective, although Li Xianxin has the intention to help, you had better not hold too high of hopes. In the end, you must rely on yourselves and the thousands of righteous men of the northern border."

Wei Xiao asked in astonishment, "Could it be that Lord Li's words were deceiving me?"

"That would not be the case. It is simply that the office of the Censor only carries the power of supervision; it cannot directly interfere with Lu Xiaoyuan's military command and troop deployment. He can only submit a memorial to the imperial court after the fact, detailing the merits and faults of Lu's decisions."

"As for the imperial court's current demand of Lu Xiaoyuan, it is merely to hold Wangjiang City securely. Anything else is not within the scope of his primary responsibility!"

Xue Chengqian nodded repeatedly.

Because the strategic position of Wangjiang City was far too critical, both the imperial court and the Zhongzhou Prefecture had to rely on Wangjiang as the primary defensive focus of the northern border.

As long as Wangjiang was not lost, even if Lu Xiaoyuan truly bore the infamous reputation of refusing to rescue an ally, he had countless ways to handle the reprimands from the imperial court.

Wei Xiao also understood what Ying Mo was implying, and a sense of disappointment inevitably arose in her heart.

Xue Chengqian, however, smiled indifferently and said, "This is something we anticipated all along. Without relying too much on Lu Xiaoyuan, if we rely on ourselves, we can still coordinate with the Dongping garrison!"

Ying Mo looked at Xue Chengqian in surprise. Taking in his appearance and age, he guessed, "Could Your Excellency be Xue Chengqian, who heavily defeated the Northern Barbarians by the Angry River?"

"It is precisely this humble person!"

"Chengqian—to sustain and shoulder the cosmos. What a fine name! Furthermore, observing Your Excellency's physiognomy, you will surely not remain a fish in a pond for long!"

Ying Mo offered this evaluation with a calm tone.

Xue Chengqian had long since heard that there was a prevailing custom of "famous scholars giving appraisals" in the current era, one that was highly valued by aristocratic clans.

Especially in the case of great Confucians like Ying Mo, many scions of noble families eagerly anticipated receiving a single sentence of appraisal from him.

Yet, at a time like this, when his own status was not yet prominent, Ying Mo had proactively evaluated him and bestowed such high praise. What was his true intention?

A shock rippled through Xue Chengqian's heart, and he instinctively activated his system functions, only to discover that the man held no malicious intent toward him.

The moment he activated the system function, he also received a system prompt.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for obtaining a famous scholar's appraisal.]

[Ying Mo is a great Confucian of the current era, well-versed in the arts of divination. His appraisal will help guide the host's destiny toward a better direction. Obtaining a famous scholar's appraisal also grants you a massive amount of literati prestige.]

"Literati prestige? There's an attribute like this too? What on earth is it good for?"

Xue Chengqian was left completely bewildered upon hearing this.

[As the host makes various choices at critical points of destiny, it will inevitably exert various influences on your world, thereby granting you two hidden attributes: renown and literati prestige. They will respectively affect the attitudes of other characters when they interact with you. Please pay close attention, host.]

Xue Chengqian immediately recalled how, after the Battle of the Angry River, aside from Lu Xiaoyuan growing more wary of them, there was also the attitude of people like Sun Fushan and his ilk toward them.

This must have been the influence of the renown he had acquired.

As for literati prestige, it was perhaps his influence among the scholars.

However, since he could not yet genuinely perceive this effect, he could only keep it in mind for now.

"This humble person is unworthy of the senior's praise. Right now, the only thing on my mind is to strengthen our own forces in order to rescue Lord Wei of Dongping."

Wei Xiao immediately cast a look of gratitude toward him.

Luo Fang had also completely swept away yesterday's dejection and said with excitement, "With Lord Lu's verbal permission, we can directly bring Sun Fushan and his gang under our command, instantly expanding our strength by more than threefolds."

"As long as we can emulate this feat and subdue other heroes of the greenwood, even the Northern Barbarian army will not dare to underestimate our strength."

"By then, even if we cannot defeat the Northern Barbarians in a frontal clash, we can still tie down their troops and create an opportunity for Lord Wei."

Although Dongping City looked perilous, it still housed tens of thousands of garrison troops after all; it was by no means an isolated city utterly devoid of the power to counterattack.

Wei Xiao also regained her confidence.

She likewise had faith in her own father. As long as they created trouble for the Northern Barbarians on the periphery, her father would undoubtedly be able to seize the opportune moment of battle.

There was another underlying factor: whenever she stayed with Xue Chengqian and the others, she was always infected by their resolve.

Although these brave men held low status and lacked large military commands in their hands, they were all genuinely risking their lives and racking their brains to rescue her father.

This emotional drive had a tremendously strong infectious effect on her.

From this, it could also be seen that Lu Xiaoyuan did not dare to directly take action against Wei Xiao, but instead devised ways to strip away her wings and leave her isolated and helpless—a truly deep and calculated scheme.

Ying Mo smiled and said, "This old man is also deeply admiring of Lord Wei's determination to defend the city to the death, and is willing to contribute a meager effort."

"The head of the Tu family once studied under this old man's tutelage, and subsequently many members of the Tu clan became my disciples. They all harbor loyalty and righteousness in their hearts. You may seek them out for assistance."

Elder Ying directly handed them his calling card and then explained in detail how to contact the Tu family.

The Tu family was not a prominent, illustrious clan of the northern border, but they had established themselves in the northwestern lands for nearly a hundred years. They had built their own fortified manor, and together with the tenant farmers and merchant caravans they maintained, they possessed a formidable armed force of a thousand men!

For the current Righteous Town Battalion, if they could smoothly bring this force under their command, the speed at which their strength expanded would truly feel like stepping into a dream.

The help Ying Mo provided them was simply too immense.

At the time of parting, Wei Xiao formally bid him farewell with a profound bow of deep respect.