kingnovel Chapter 669: Recruiting Xu Chu
Chapter 669: Recruiting Xu Chu
In terms of brute force alone, Xu Chu might be slightly better than Dian Wei, but Xu Chu was too big and thick, and too heavy, which inevitably made him less flexible.
Although Dian Wei's strength is slightly weaker than Xu Chu's, he is faster than Xu Chu. After all, he has the ability to "chase tigers across the stream" and can chase tigers in the mountains and forests without leaving them anywhere to escape. You can imagine how fast he is.
At the beginning, Dian Wei was not familiar with the opponent's brute force, but after adapting to Xu Chu's attack method, Dian Wei became more and more handy. Every time he was able to dodge Xu Chu's attack nimbly and counterattack at the right time.
Moreover, in the previous battle with Lu Cheng, because the gap was too big and he was defeated too quickly, Dian Wei did not feel the thrill of fighting with real punches.
Now facing Xu Chu, the two can fight with all their might.
"Bang" the weapons of the two men collided again. After all, Dian Wei's pair of iron halberds were only made by ordinary craftsmen, and the quality was not very good. Soon they could not withstand the continuous collisions of Xu Chu's long-handled thick-bladed sword.
Dian Wei took advantage of the force of the blow and retreated three or five steps. He said loudly, "Xu Chu, how about we put down our weapons and fight again with bare hands?"
"That's exactly what I want!" In previous battles, Xu Chu's broadsword would always be caught by the branches of the opponent's iron halberd, making the fights very unpleasant. Upon hearing this, he immediately agreed.
Afterwards, the two men threw their weapons aside. Xu Chu even took off his shirt, revealing his muscular body. He shouted loudly and rushed towards Dian Wei with his fists.
"Bang bang bang" This kind of close-range hand-to-hand combat made the two men more and more excited, and they didn't care even if they were hit by each other's fists.
Across from Xujiazhuang, Xu Chu's father and brother saw that there were actually people who could fight Xu Chu back and forth. They were afraid that Xu Chu would be in trouble, but they did not dare to step forward to stop them. After all, those two men were too brutal and would only hinder Xu Chu's progress if they went forward.
Seeing that Dian Wei and Xu Chu were getting more and more furious and would probably be seriously injured if the fight continued, Lu Cheng immediately jumped off his horse, rushed to the center of the battlefield between the two, grabbed Xu Chu with his left hand and Dian Wei with his right hand, and forcibly separated the two who were fighting.
This scene caused everyone in Xujiazhuang to be terrified.
Dian Wei, whose arm was grabbed by Lu Cheng, suddenly came to his senses and quickly took two or three steps back.
Xu Chu, who was grabbed, was like a mad bull. He wanted to attack Lu Cheng, but was shocked by Lu Cheng's right hand. He took three or five steps back unconsciously and fell to the ground.
Seeing the fighting stop, everyone in Xujiazhuang breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly ran out of the village and came behind Xu Chu.
After being repelled by Lu Cheng, Xu Chu was still a little confused: "Who are you? Why are you stronger than me?"
Dian Wei stepped forward and took the initiative to introduce: "This is my master, the governor of Liaodong."
Xu Chu's father quickly bowed and said, "We didn't know it was the Liaodong governor who was here. Please forgive me for my impoliteness."
Lu Cheng also returned the greeting: "This must be Master Xu, right? You're welcome. We passed by this place and heard that there is a warrior who can throw flying stones and pull up a mad bull with his bare hands, so we came here to see him. He is indeed extraordinary."
Xu Chu's father quickly said modestly: "My son only has some brute strength, but he cannot compare with the extraordinary martial arts of the fierce generals under the command of the prefect."
Xu Chu, who was squatting on the ground, was indeed a little unconvinced: "He may not be able to defeat me."
Dian Wei laughed and said, "Let's have another fight."
Xu Chu immediately stood up and said, "Fight if you want, who's afraid of who?"
Xu Chu's elder brother Xu Ding quickly grabbed his younger brother and said, "Don't be rude."
Xu Chu's father smiled and said, "It's getting late today. Since the governor has arrived at the gate of Xujiazhuang, why don't you stay overnight and let me show my hospitality."
"In this case, it will be a big bother."
After the group entered Xujiazhuang, Xu's father immediately ordered people to slaughter pigs and sheep and entertain Lu Cheng and his entourage.
The Xu family is also a well-known local tyrant in Qiao County, but it cannot be considered a noble family.
Aristocratic families generally have a long history of inheritance, high social status and wealth, and a long history. The family usually also has members who have served as high-ranking officials.
A powerful person refers to a local force that has sufficient wealth and armed forces to occupy a certain place and is able to protect its own property.
The Xu family was less than three generations old and was originally just a small local landlord. It was not until the generation of Xu Chu's father that they began to grow gradually.
Xu Chu's father was very far-sighted. He knew that a powerful family would only last for a short time. If he wanted the family to become truly strong and pass it on, he still needed his sons to study and become officials, so as to develop into an aristocratic family.
Therefore, the brothers Xu Ding and Xu Chu were required by their father to study literature since they were young, and their father also invited several old teachers from poor families to teach them. Unfortunately, the two brothers were not good at studying literature.
Fortunately, Xu Chu, relying on his brute force, gathered able-bodied men and clan members around him, formed a force to resist the bandits, became famous in the village, and accumulated some reputation.
Unexpectedly, this reputation actually attracted a prefect today, a prefect who dominated Liaodong and was feared in Mobei. Father Xu was also a little excited.
"Governor Lu, even though I'm at home, I've heard of your reputation. I never thought I'd be able to meet you today. It's such an honor."
On this side, Xu Chu's father was toasting and flattering Lu Cheng.
On the other side, Dian Wei also drank with Xu Chu.
"Old Xu, you have all these skills, why do you want to waste your time at home? A good man should gallop on the battlefield, kill the enemy and serve the country. Just like my master's white horse and silver spear Zhao Zilong, iron halberd and divine arrow Taishi Ci, and invincible broadsword Huang Hansheng, which one of them is not a great man who conquered a country and shocked the northern desert?
Listen to me and follow the lord. There are masters outside, the most intense battles, and the most vast world..."
Xu Chu's blood boiled after hearing this: "Yes, I have wanted to go out for a long time. I always stay at home, and my father forces me to study. It is really unpleasant. I hate studying the most. I will go with you. I also want to see the masters outside..."
While drinking, Lu Cheng looked up at Dian Wei. He didn't expect that this ferocious-looking guy was actually quite good at fooling people. Xu Chu was obviously almost fooled by him.
After having a good meal and a good drink, Master Xu asked his eldest son Xu Ding to arrange for Lu Cheng and others to go and rest, and then called his youngest son Xu Chu: "A Chu, do you want to follow this Liaodong governor?"
Xu Chu hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "Yes, father. I don't want to stay at home anymore."
Father Xu pondered for a moment and nodded: "Okay, after our previous conversation, I found that Governor Lu is indeed a hero. Nowadays, the world is getting more and more chaotic, and I can't see the future clearly. Since my son has such a talent, he should not waste it at home, and he should go out and see the world."
The next morning, just after Lu Cheng had breakfast, Xu's father pulled Xu Chu to him and said, "Governor, my son Xu Chu wants to follow you and hold your horse's stirrup. Would you be willing to accept me?"
Lu Cheng laughed: "Zhongkang is a fierce general. Since he is willing to follow me, I am overjoyed. How could I not be willing?"
Xu Chu stepped forward, bowed and said, "Xu Chu greets my lord!"
Lu Cheng took a step forward and helped Xu Chu up with both hands: "Good, Lu has got another tiger general!"
After helping Xu Chu up, Lu Cheng patted his shoulder again, then nodded to the guard Li Tie beside him: "Li Tie, give the prepared gift to Master Xu."
Li Tie took out a package from his bag and handed it to Xu's father.
Father Xu took the square and light package and felt confused as to what gift the governor would give him.
Lu Cheng smiled slightly: "Master Xu, why don't you open it and take a look."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Xu immediately opened the package and saw a paper book inside with four big words on the cover: "The Art of War".
Even though Mr. Xu had limited knowledge, he knew the famous "The Art of War" and was immediately excited. He bowed and saluted: "Thank you, Governor, for the book."
Nowadays, any classic book can be regarded as a family heirloom. A "Ten Thousand Words Book" with more than ten thousand words is worth a fortune.
Even a poor scholar would rather sell his property than his books.
Books such as "The Art of War" are the most precious among many classics and are strictly prohibited from circulation by the court and the upper class.
Xu's father also spent a high price to borrow books from some poor scholars and asked craftsmen to copy them, but they were just ordinary books, and military books only existed in legends.
At this moment, there is such a complete military book, which can definitely be regarded as a family heirloom. If there are one or two promising descendants of the Xu family in the future, they may be able to directly rely on this military book to make the Xu family a military family.
Therefore, Xu's father took Xu Chu aside and told him: "Since you are serving under the governor, you should be loyal to your duties and never have second thoughts."
Xu Chu was stunned for a moment, touched the back of his head, and looked at his father: You said last night that saving life is the most important thing, why is it different today?