The new era of chaos begins in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 426 Ancient Divine Sword
Wang Yuan's words hit the nail on the head. Han Wu was a military enlisted man. If he left without permission, he would be treated as a deserter. Once caught, he would be sentenced to exile at the very least, or be beaten to death and have his head hung at the gate.

In other words, even if Han Wu was willing to go with Chen Shen, the two of them would not be able to go smoothly if his military status issue was not resolved.

Of course, it is very simple to solve this problem. All you need to do is to deal with Han Wu's superior, Wang Yuan, and ask him to issue a letter of dismissal for Han Wu (similar to a notice of expulsion). Then Han Wu can leave like a normal person without being restricted by military status.

Of course, this kind of certificate was not issued randomly in the Song Dynasty army. Generally, only soldiers who had lost their combat ability due to illness, disability or old age were eligible to apply for it.

Moreover, this type of personal certificate is not a good thing for soldiers who really meet the application requirements.

You know, a soldier who loses his combat capability basically also loses his ability to make a living. When they are driven out of the barracks, the army will not help them solve their future livelihood problems. At most, they will only give them some temporary living money and food.

An old soldier who receives the armor-removing notice may, if he is lucky, return to his hometown to become a rural coach. In Water Margin, Mu Hong [the Unrestrained] and Lu Fang [the Little Marquis of Wen] learned their skills from these old soldiers who received the armor-removing notice. Or it should be said that most of the heroes learned their martial arts in this way.

There were also some soldiers who were unlucky or even lacked strength and were forced to wander the world. Typical representatives include [Sick Tiger] Xue Yong, [Tiger-Fighting General] Li Zhong, etc., who had to rely on street martial arts to make a living.

However, for Han Wu at this time, the military camp might be the most suitable place for him.

His background, his character, and his bravery allowed him to thrive in the lower echelons of the military.

Even in the next twenty years, even though he suffered countless oppression and abuse in the military camp, he never left until the moment of fortune finally came.

If Chen Shen hadn't cleverly set up a gambling scheme to earn his money, there wouldn't have been even a chance to poach him.

Even if Chen Shen can temporarily control Han Wu, if he cannot get through to Wang Yuan, all his efforts will be in vain in the end.

There is no doubt that Wang Yuan's joints are difficult to open up.

Wang Yuan was a man of proud temperament, who valued righteousness over money. He was a fierce general in the Western Army. In the future, he would be the vanguard officer of the Song Dynasty in suppressing the Fang La Uprising (it was under his guidance that Han Wu captured Fang La alive). At that time, he was known as the "Twin Kings of the Western Army" together with another famous Jing Kang general, Wang Bing (who defended Taiyuan for nine months during the invasion of the Jin army and died heroically for his country).

After the Jingkang Incident, Wang Yuan led his army to support Prince Kang Zhao Gou to ascend the throne and served as the commander-in-chief of the Imperial Camp. He was Zhao Gou's most trusted central commander.

Moreover, Wang Yuan is also a guy with a very strange way of thinking.

One year, the Jin army attacked Yangzhou, and Zhao Gou fled across the river in a hurry. Wang Yuan and the eunuch Kang Lu escorted him to Zhenjiang. General Liu Guangshi was unable to arrive in time to escort him, and fearing that the emperor would blame him, he cried in front of the emperor and falsely accused Wang Yuan of being in charge of the ships on the river and not allowing his troops to cross the river. Wang Yuan did not think of appealing to the emperor, but instead executed his innocent subordinate Huangfu Zuo (the inspector of Jiangbei, in charge of ships) to save himself.

From then on, Wang Yuan lost the support of his generals and was eventually killed in the Miao and Liu mutiny.

Wang Yuan had some flaws in his character, but one thing is worth affirming, he was not a jealous person. This can be seen from the fact that Wang Yuan specifically instructed Han Shizhong to capture Fang La alive and made the first contribution. Of course, in the end Han Shizhong's credit was usurped by the Xin brothers, which is another matter.

Chen Shen wanted Wang Yuan to issue a letter of removal for Han Wu, but coercion or inducement would be useless, so he had to find another way.

Generally speaking, as long as Chen Shen can prove that Han Wu will have a brighter future if he follows him, Wang Yuan will most likely not stop Han Wu from leaving.

Of course, the proof process is also very particular.

Facing Wang Yuan's obstruction, Chen Shen smiled and said, "I have heard that wise men will not harm talented people. Wang Tixia is a man of outstanding righteousness and is well-known in all directions. He should know this. I see that the five Han brothers are very brave and have the talent to be great generals. Therefore, I pity them and cannot bear to see them waste time in this remote place. I want to invite them to come to the government to serve as generals and do great deeds."

Wang Yuan was not like Han Wu. He was well-educated and familiar with the story of Marquis Huaiyin. He naturally heard the hidden meaning in Chen Shen's words.

His expression changed, and he asked in a deep voice: "Who are you and how dare you come here to select minions?!"

Chen Shen smiled and said, "I am just a common man from Xiangzhou, how dare I claim to be a saint!"

A common man from Xiangzhou?

Wang Yuan sneered in his heart, wondering if he was a descendant of a military family!
Since the reign of Emperor Zhenzong, military families have often recruited potential warriors in the army, either by giving them wealth or marrying off their daughters to them, in order to win them over (if their children are incompetent) in order to maintain their influence in the army.

Even Wang Yuan himself is one of the beneficiaries of this trend.

Of course, if you ask Wang Yuan whether he is really willing to accept this "gift", he is definitely unwilling.

After all, for capable people, who would want to kneel when they can eat while standing?

It's a pity that the general environment of the Song Dynasty is like this, and personal will cannot go against the general trend. Moreover, in the past nearly 100 years, the generals of the Song Dynasty have been relatively humane, at least they are relatively tolerant of these recruited talents, so most of the lower-level military generals are still willing to be treated by the generals. Even if Wang Yuan has some psychological cleanliness, he can't refuse this kind of life that is forced to be fed, and he doesn't want to cut off this shortcut for Han Wu. After all, the Song Dynasty has only produced one Di Wuxiang in the past 100 years.

When Di Qing first joined the army, he refused the recruitment of generals, but was favored by a group of civil officials.

Of course, although Wang Yuan didn't mind Han Wu being valued by a noble family, he wanted to examine the background of the host family for Han Wu to avoid entrusting Han Wu to the wrong person.

So Wang Yuan said: "There is an old saying that goes, 'A dragon won't dive into muddy water, a phoenix won't land in a place without treasure, and a woman of good fortune won't marry into a poor and unlucky family. You are just a country boy, how can you marry my five brothers?"

Chen Shen laughed, and Wang Yuan finally fell into the trap.

He smiled and said, "What the captain said is very true. As the saying goes, a good horse deserves a golden saddle, and a hero carries a precious sword. If I don't show some brilliance, I'm afraid you will underestimate my family's foundation. Chen is not talented, but I am willing to exchange three sets of full steel armor for Han Wu's armor removal certificate!"

In this era, a set of fine iron armor would definitely be considered a family heirloom even if it was placed in a military family (and only military families were qualified to accept precious armor). You can see that the future [Golden Spear] Xu Ning was recruited to Liangshan because of his ancestral goose feather ring golden armor (a variant of fish scale chain mail).

Not to mention that Chen Shen said he would take out three sets of full steel armor in exchange for Han Wu. If it were someone else, they would have sold Han Wu to Chen Shen long ago.

However, Wang Yuan resisted the temptation, because he knew very well that since Chen Shen dared to exchange his armor for Han Wu, it proved that this guy definitely came from a general family.

Moreover, seeing Chen Shen’s casual attire when he entered the city, Wang Yuan was afraid that the so-called steel armor was just an empty promise. Who knew if this guy was just bragging?

Therefore, Wang Yuan sneered and said, "Master Chen is so generous! For a fellow like Han Wu, you are willing to exchange three sets of armor for him. I'm afraid you've made a bad deal!"

Chen Shen pretended to be angry and laughed, "You are afraid that I will make empty promises and not keep my promises in the end, right? Hahaha! Who do you think I am? Although I am a poor man, I know the principle of keeping my promises!"

Wang Yuan sneered, "Since the great official said so, do you want to hand over the armor on the spot? I'm afraid you don't have a piece of armor in your hand!"

Chen Shen really wanted to show Wang Yuan how to rub the steel armor with bare hands in public, but he finally held back and said, "I was in a hurry this time and I really didn't bring any armor with me. But don't worry, Captain. Once I send a letter back home, the three sets of steel armor will be delivered in time!"

Wang Yuan laughed proudly and said, "Then I will let Han Wu go out of the camp after I send the armor to you! You can write a letter now!"

Chen Shen bowed and clasped his fists, then smiled and said, "Captain, please don't be so unkind. Please give me some leniency!"

Wang Yuan sneered and said, "How can I help you?"

Chen Shen smiled and said, "Captain, please know that I will be going to Dexihe soon, and I need Han Wu to accompany me. How can I delay? Please issue me a certificate in advance and let Han Wu leave the camp."

Wang Yuan snorted coldly and said decisively: "I don't trust you. Without the precious armor, you can't let Han Wu go!"

Having said that, Wang Yuan turned around and was about to leave.

Chen Shen stepped forward and grabbed Wang Yuan's arm. Wang Yuan struggled but couldn't get away. He was immediately shocked and tried to fight with all his strength, but his strength was like a drop in the ocean, and he couldn't even move Chen Shen's wrist.

Wang Yuan was shocked and said angrily: "What do you mean, sir?!"

Chen Shen pretended to be ignorant and smiled: "The captain is too anxious! Although I can't take out the steel armor for the time being, I am willing to pawn something as collateral in exchange for the captain's convenience."

Wang Yuan asked coldly, "What do you want to pawn, sir?"

Chen Shen let go of Wang Yuan, took two steps back, and said with a smile: "Captain, do you know that in the Spring and Autumn Period there was a sword master named Kong Zhou who collected three swords from the King of Shang, namely Chengying, Hanguang, and Xiaolian. These three swords all have unpredictable powers! I was lucky enough to accidentally find one of them. I am willing to use it as a pledge and pledge it to the captain. When the steel armor is delivered, I will exchange it for it."

Wang Yuan felt that he might be hallucinating, or that Chen Shen was still asleep and talking nonsense.

He said angrily, "Sir, stop talking nonsense! Although I, Wang Jidao, am humble, I am not a fool who will be deceived! If you just pick up a piece of scrap copper and iron and say it is an ancient sword, how can I recognize it for nothing! How can a child of a noble family act so shamelessly!"

Wang Yuan thought he had guessed Chen Shen's thoughts. This guy was probably trying to use his family background to bully others and force him, Wang, to accept the so-called "ancient divine sword."

Chen Shen smiled and shook his head, then took off the sword from his waist and slowly drew out the blade.

But the sword blade was three fingers wide, as crystal as jade, and as translucent as a cicada's wing. When the sun shone on it, it emitted colorful light, but no shadow was seen.

(End of this chapter)