“How about it, nephew? Isn’t Brother Hu’s document exceptionally well-written? I see you’re completely engrossed in it. I’ve told you before, both Brother Hu and Brother Xia are talents of the highest caliber, their abilities are on par with mine. Such official documents are a piece of cake for them.” Uncle Zhu Shouren chuckled as he stepped forward.
“Mr. Hu’s document has a minor flaw in its format, which is not a big issue. However, the calculation of the grain and fodder quantity is incorrect.” Zhu Ping’an slightly shook his head and handed the document back to Hu Wei, instructing, “Please recalculate and correct it.”
“What?! Incorrect? How could that be?” Hu Wei’s face was filled with disbelief, a triple dose of doubt, unable to accept it.
“Incorrect? That can’t be. Could it be that you, nephew, made a mistake? Just now, Brother Hu was using an abacus and verifying on scratch paper, how could he be wrong? You only did a mental calculation, I’m thinking maybe it’s you who made the mistake?”
Uncle Zhu Shouren scratched the back of his head, questioning Zhu Ping’an.
In his view, Hu Wei used both an abacus and scratch paper for his calculations, while Zhu Ping’an only did a mental calculation for a few seconds. If someone had to be wrong, it should be Zhu Ping’an.
“Uncle, you can recalculate with Mr. Hu and let me know the result afterward,” Zhu Ping’an said to Uncle Zhu Shouren.
“Since the lord has instructed, Brother Xia and Brother Zhu should do the recalculating,” Xia Qiang interjected from the side.
At this moment, Xia Qiang’s mood was somewhat pleased.
Zhu Shouren had lazed in bed this morning, not joining the morning run, claiming he was doing morning reading. But when did he come to the commander’s tent for morning reading? The guards at the tent surely knew, and thus Lord Zhu would definitely know.
How could someone who sleeps in late in the morning win Lord Zhu’s trust and favor?
Now, Brother Hu’s request for grain document has miscalculated the grain and fodder, surely leaving a negative impression of carelessness and unreliability with the lord. Hahaha, isn’t this just perfect for me, Xia Qiang, to stand out?
Being one step ahead means leading all the way, a universal truth.
This time, I’ve taken the lead, and I’m about to lead the entire field. Hahaha, I never expected this elaborate visit to end up benefiting me, Xia Qiang, alone. Hahaha, thank you, Brother Zhu, thank you, Brother Hu.
Xia Qiang’s dark heart grew more beautiful, more delighted, the smile on his lips almost uncontrollable.
“Mr. Xia, Mr. Xia, let me see the document you’ve prepared,” Zhu Ping’an called out twice before waking Xia Qiang from his beautiful dream.
“Oh oh, this is the document I’ve drafted, please have a look, my lord.”
Xia Qiang just woke from his beautiful dream, hurriedly handed over the document he had prepared with both hands to Zhu Ping’an.
Zhu Ping’an took Xia Qiang’s document, opened it, and read it carefully. However, just from the beginning, Zhu Ping’an couldn’t help but frown.
Even after finishing Xia Qiang’s drafted document, Zhu Ping’an’s furrowed brows did not relax.
After reading, Zhu Ping’an placed Xia Qiang’s drafted document on the table, alongside the paper with the place name he had left.
“Mr. Xia, take a closer look, do you notice anything wrong?”
Zhu Ping’an pointed to the place name, then to Xia Qiang’s drafted document, asking Xia Qiang.
“My document also has errors?” Xia Qiang opened his mouth in disbelief.
Zhu Ping’an nodded.
“But, Lord Zhu, the reference document you gave me was also sent to local areas requesting cooperation in military exercises. My document only changed the place name, the rest was copied from the reference document, there shouldn’t be any errors. If there are errors, perhaps it’s the reference document you gave me that’s wrong.”
Xia Qiang argued with reason.
“Brother Xia’s document is also wrong? Just changing a place name, mostly copying the rest, can it still be wrong?” Uncle Zhu Shouren suspiciously looked at Zhu Ping’an, whispering, “Nephew, you’re not being overly critical, are you?”
Zhu Ping’an helplessly twitched the corner of his mouth, pointing again to the paper with the place name, “Uncle, Mr. Xia, what place is this?”
“Qiuxia County,” Uncle Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang replied without hesitation, then Uncle Zhu Shouren smiled and said, “Nephew, we’re not illiterate. Moreover, the three characters for Qiuxia County are not difficult or obscure.”
Zhu Ping’an helplessly shook his head, “Uncle, Mr. Xia, take a closer look, what place is this?”
“Qiuxia County, no problem.”
Uncle Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang looked at the paper with the name again, once more replying in unison.
“Uncle, Mr. Xia, please look carefully,” Zhu Ping’an helplessly rolled his eyes, pointing to one of the characters, enunciating each word as he asked the two, “Is this ‘Xia’ or ‘Lai’?!”
“‘Xia’ or ‘Lai’? Ah!!! ‘Lai’! This character is ‘Lai’, it’s Qiulai County, not Qiuxia County……”
With Zhu Ping’an’s blunt reminder, Xia Qiang finally realized, instantly blushing, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.
“‘Lai’? ‘Qiulai County’?”
Uncle Zhu was stunned for a moment, then grabbed the paper with the place name, looked at it several times under his eyes, then awkwardly smiled, “Uh, it really is Qiulai County, cough, this ‘Lai’ and ‘Xia’ are too similar, nephew, this place name you wrote is too easy to mistake. However, getting one character wrong isn’t a big deal, right? Although Brother Xia mistakenly wrote Qiuxia County, those reading the document probably know it’s actually Qiulai County.”
Uncle Zhu Shouren’s sophistry gave Xia Qiang a lifeline to cling to, and he nodded along.
My native language is speechless, truly speechless.
Zhu Ping’an was amused by Uncle Zhu Shouren’s words, mistakenly writing Qiuxia County, others would know it’s Qiulai County?!
“Uncle, Mr. Xia, in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, not only is there Qiulai County, but also Qiuxia County, one to the south and one to the north, more than one hundred and eighty miles apart. Qiulai County is named after the Lai Ridge; Qiuxia County is named after the Qiushan Grand Canyon. In military affairs, there’s no room for the slightest carelessness. This time it’s just an exercise, but what if it were a battle?! Troops meant to be dispatched to Qiulai County to exterminate the pirates are instead sent to Qiuxia County, more than one hundred and eighty miles away, have you thought about the consequences?!”
Zhu Ping’an looked seriously at Uncle Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang, slowly asking.
Uncle Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang looked blank.
“If Qiulai County were to suffer from pirate attacks, the people of Qiulai County would be in imminent danger, eagerly awaiting our Zhejiang army’s support to lift the siege. But because of a document, our Zhejiang army heads to Qiuxia County, more than one hundred and eighty miles away. Arriving at Qiuxia County, realizing the mistake, it’s too late, the two places are more than one hundred and eighty miles apart. By the time we rush back to Qiulai County, all we’d see are the ruins and corpses everywhere……”
“As for our Zhejiang army, uncle, Mr. Xia, do you know the consequences of our Zhejiang army going to the wrong place? The story of Feng Tang growing old and Li Guang hard to seal, uncle and Mr. Xia, you both know it, right? During the Han Dynasty’s Battle of Mobei, General Li Guang led a troop that got lost in the desert, failing to reach the main battlefield in time for the battle. Afterwards, Li Guang was reprimanded by Emperor Wu of Han and committed suicide to atone for his mistake; do uncle and Mr. Xia also wish for me to be reprimanded by His Majesty and commit suicide to atone?”
Zhu Ping’an’s gaze burned as he looked at Uncle Zhu Shouren and Xia Qiang, laying out the seriousness of the issue to them one by one.
Uncle Zhu Shouren awkwardly smiled.
Xia Qiang lowered his head.
