Mu Hanzhang waited for nearly two hours in the only inn in town until Jing Shao dejectedly came to find him.
"What, were you not able to persuade him?" Mu Hanzhang pushed a bowl of rice toward him and told the waiter to bring two extra hot dishes.
When Jing Shao saw Hao Dadao just now, he was so overjoyed and wanted to persuade the man to leave with him. Unexpectedly, the man said he needed to chop the minced meat and would talk with him later. It was blistering hot in midsummer, and it was almost noon. Afraid that his Wang Fei would be hot, Jing Shao had Mu Hanzhang wait for him at the inn first. Jing Shao waited by himself for nearly two hours before he could have an in-depth talk with Hao Dadao. He originally thought he understood the other man very well: He was a descendant of a famous general with excellent prowess in martial arts and military skills – it had to be frustrating for him to be stuck butchering pigs in this small mountain village. Who knew that this person would just return Jing Shao's clear intention to recruit him with a "why are you so meddlesome" expression.
"I'm getting by very well just butchering pigs and selling meat. Why would I want to go fight in life-and-death situations on the battlefield? Not going, not going!" Hao Dadao just said it like that, and drove Jing Shao out of the pork shop.
"If you want to obtain a good general, you must be patient." Mu Hanzhang poured him a cup of water. "It'll take the army a few days to go around the mountain. We can stop here for a while. Don't be impatient."
Jing Shao raised his head and gulped down the water in the cup. "This water is so refreshing!"
Mu Hanzhang poured him another cup and told him that the water wasn't boiled, but was from a well. It was water pumped directly from the well in the inn's backyard. It was ice cold and slightly sweet. It was very delicious. "I've already booked a room in this inn."
"Ah?" Jing Shao swallowed a mouthful of food and looked up at him. "Jun Qing, do you believe that even if I do go, I still won't be able to persuade him?"
"When taking a wife, you have to follow the three books and six rites; it is similar when you're trying to obtain a worthy person. You must be sincere and use the correct method." Mu Hanzhang slowly drank some water. "But there's a problem."
"What's the problem?" Jing Shao frowned and pondered.
In his previous life, in the 19th year of Hongzheng's reign, a muddle-headed and greedy county magistrate had been sent here. He preyed on the people and wasn't strict with his officials. One official molested Hao Dadao's neighbor's little daughter, and Hao Dadao was so angry that he killed that official with his butcher's knife. The county magistrate wanted to arrest him, but the villagers petitioned on Hao Dadao's behalf. The muddle-headed county magistrate drove the villagers away with his whip. Chaos erupted, and the officials killed two innocent people, which provoked a sudden rebellion.
At that time, Jing Shao had been defeated after attacking the King of Huainan. On his way back to the capital, he chanced upon this civil unrest. After leading the troops in quelling the rebellion, he was able to appease the people's ire by executing the county magistrate in front of all of them. At that time, Hao Dadao had trained a group of villagers who hadn't been able to fight before into a militia that could resist the soldiers. This made Jing Shao cherish his talents, so he petitioned the emperor for an imperial decree in which he offered the rebels amnesty if they enlisted; this way, he was able to bring Hao Dadao under his command.
It was just that right now, Jing Shao reckoned that the county magistrate had yet to even take the imperial examination.
Mu Hanzhang said lightly, "The bedding in this inn is very old; I'm afraid there might be fleas."
