Phi-Fic Chapter 577 Scattered Soldiers
Chapter 577 Scattered Soldiers
Chapter 577 Scattered Soldiers
At Hanshan Square, more than two thousand students from all over the country gathered in twos and threes, chatting and laughing. Beside the students stood a neat and orderly formation of a thousand-strong female guard. The girls all stared straight ahead and remained motionless. Compared with the chaotic students, one was a disciplined regular army, and the other was a ragtag army with lax discipline.
Wang Wenzhou, with one arm around Empress Zhou and the other around Li Mei, slowly walked up to the high platform.
Empress Zhou and Li Mei were dressed in police uniforms, ankle boots, and miniskirts. Their bare thighs and the blush on their faces created a striking contrast.
Wang Wenzhou looked around at the students and said loudly, "Quiet!"
After a short while, the scene quieted down.
Mao Xiang nudged Hou Fangyu beside him and pointed at Empress Zhou, saying softly, "Brother Hou, don't you think the girl Wang Wenzhou is holding looks familiar?"
Hou Fangyu thought for a moment, and he felt like he had seen that girl somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where.
Empress Zhou was overcome with shyness, her face flushed a lovely blush. She was about to speak, but then swallowed her words. That rascal Wang Wenzhou—even if she told him not to touch her like that, he probably wouldn't take his hand out of her clothes. Who designed this outfit anyway? There was a slit under her armpit, more than a finger's length long, through which her rascal's hand, which was wrapped around her, could easily slip inside her clothes.
Empress Zhou comforted herself, thinking that apart from Wang Wenzhou and his wives and concubines, no one here knew her identity. Even if someone had seen her before, they wouldn't think that she was the Empress.
Wang Chengen returned to the capital to report to Zhu Youjian on the results of the negotiations between Empress Zhou and Wang Wenzhou. However, Wang Wenzhou used the excuse that since the princess and prince were coming to Hanshan anyway, Empress Zhou could return to the capital after they arrived and settled down.
Empress Zhou thought about it and decided that since she had already done what she should and shouldn't have done, she wouldn't mind staying in Hanshan for a few more days. Besides, during that time, she could observe Wang Wenzhou up close and see what he was really up to.
Wang Wenzhou's fans, however, were quite unhappy. "You, an empress, shamelessly sleep with someone else's husband! Fine, you sleep with him, but you don't want to leave afterward? Is that even acceptable?" For the past two days, the fans have been giving Wang Wenzhou the cold shoulder, unwilling to speak to him. Mainly, they all know Empress Zhou's status and simply can't afford to argue with the Empress Dowager.
Wang Wenzhou hugged and kissed Empress Zhou, then pointed at the students and said loudly, "Greetings, gentlemen."
"Clap clap clap!" The students burst into enthusiastic applause. Although they all thought Wang Wenzhou was too lecherous, what they had seen and heard in Hanshan these past few days had deeply touched their hearts. Hanshan was truly a paradise on earth, where ordinary people could live with dignity, something that would be absolutely impossible in other parts of the Ming Dynasty.
Wang Wenzhou waved his hand and continued, "I greatly admire your dedication to serving the country and your decision to abandon your studies to join the army in Hanshan."
The students smiled slightly; no one dislikes hearing kind words.
Wang Wenzhou changed the subject and said coldly, "But I won't take any of you bastards. Go back to where you came from. We don't want trash in Hanshan!"
"Buzz..." The students were immediately enraged. Most of these people had the title of Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examinations), and a very few were even Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations). It could be said that these students were the elite of the Ming Dynasty. When had they ever been looked down upon like this?
Hou Fangyu, a leading figure among the students, was not afraid of Wang Wenzhou's retaliation. He stepped forward and said loudly, "Wang Wenzhou, what exactly do you mean? You tricked me into waiting until we arrived in Hanshan just to humiliate us?"
Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly, hugged Empress Zhou and kissed her, then muttered, "Have you no shame? Come on!"
Wang Wenzhou pointed at the female guards beside the students and said loudly, "Look at them! They are women, but since they arrived at the square half an hour ago, have you seen them making a fuss? And look at yourselves, what kind of people are you? You can't even stand properly, you have no organization or discipline. Do you really want to be soldiers and fight a war like this?"
The students had already observed the women's guard unit firsthand, and they had even discussed it earlier. They admired Wang Wenzhou's ability to train women into elite soldiers. Now, with Wang Wenzhou's words, the students blushed instantly. As scholars, they cared about their reputation and knew they had indeed acted inappropriately.
Hou Fangyu thought for a moment and said, "We haven't been trained yet, but I believe that after training, we will definitely be no worse than the sisters next to us."
Wang Wenzhou smiled slightly and said coldly, "Alright! I'll give you another chance to serve your country. From now on, anyone who can run a lap around Hanshan City before nightfall will be qualified to join the expeditionary force. Anyone who can't even run 50 li should hurry back to where they came from!"
"Buzz!" The students roared in anger once again! Wang Wenzhou, you mad dog, you clearly don't want me to join the army! Who the hell can run 50 li in one go? We're human beings, not horses!
"Hmph!" Hou Fangyu snorted coldly and said angrily, "Wang Wenzhou, how dare you fool us like this!"
"Hey, hey, hey..." Wang Wenzhou asked, feigning ignorance, "Brother Hou, what do you mean? How did I fool you?"
Hou Fangyu said coldly, "Wang Wenzhou, you're giving us an impossible task, hoping to discourage us!"
"Impossible?" Wang Wenzhou sneered, "Who says it's impossible? Fine! I'll personally show you. You sissies, ride horses and follow me. I'll show you whether this is an impossible mission or not!"
"Okay!"
"Let's go now!"
The students started jeering, "Wang Wenzhou, you mad dog, trying to show off, huh! Let's see how you get out of this!"
Wang Wenzhou curled his lip and muttered, "A bunch of idiots, I'll play you all to death!"
Empress Zhou glanced at the students with some sympathy. She knew that Wang Wenzhou was in excellent health; otherwise, he wouldn't have put her in such a state that she couldn't get out of bed. She just couldn't understand why Wang Wenzhou would do this. If he wanted the students to join the army, why would he deliberately humiliate them?
After doing some warm-up exercises, Wang Wenzhou started running.
Empress Zhou, along with Li Mei and several representatives from the students, including Hou Fangyu, rode behind Wang Wenzhou on horseback.
After leaving Hanshan, Wang Wenzhou didn't run every day, but he exercised with the babies every day. Edison Chen once said that bedroom exercise is the best way to stay fit.
Therefore, Wang Wenzhou's physical condition was quite good, and he was confident that he could run a lap around Hanshan City.
But after running halfway, Wang Wenzhou was already panting heavily and covered in sweat. He regretted it a little; he'd gone too far with his boasting. But the words were already out in his mouth. If he didn't finish the race, how could he convince these arrogant students?
Wang Wenzhou could only grit his teeth and persevere.
Empress Zhou was very caring. Seeing that Wang Wenzhou was covered in sweat from exhaustion, she quickly dismounted, ran to his side, and used a handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
Wang Wenzhou looked at Empress Zhou with emotion. His sister-in-law was so kind. However, he was too tired to speak and could only nod to Empress Zhou.
"Slap!" Hou Fangyu suddenly slapped his thigh. He recognized the girl wiping Wang Wenzhou's sweat—it was the Emperor's Empress! How could this be! Good heavens!