The whole mountain is my hunting ground.

Chapter 1985: A Fierce Battle of Spears, High-spirited, Baoyu Slays Ruhai in His Dream.

Chapter 1985: A Fierce Battle of Spears, High-spirited, Baoyu Slays Ruhai in His Dream.

As soon as Wang Qiang finished speaking, the Zhao family father and son both turned to look at him.

"Heh!" Zhao Youcai, who had been silent until now, sneered, staring at Wang Qiang with his small eyes, and said, "Qiangzi, you think you can fight me?"

"What's wrong with me?" Sensing the disdain in Zhao Youcai's words, Wang Qiang said with displeasure, "Am I a bad shot? In the past few years, in which winter have I not hunted enough wild boars and roe deer?"

Indeed, Wang Qiang was a prominent figure in the hunting community around Yong'an. In fact, before Zhao Jun rose to prominence, Wang Qiang's reputation rivaled that of Zhou Chengguo.

As for Zhao Youcai, he ostensibly worked at the hunting grounds during those years, but he would sneak out to hunt. Therefore, Zhao Youcai remained relatively unknown during those years.

"Hey, my goodness!" Zhao Youcai scoffed, "You've only hunted a few wild boars and roe deer and you still have the nerve to brag? Have you ever even hunted a big-clawed goat?"

"I...I've never fought Big Claw, that's because I never had the chance," Wang Qiang said. "Look at me, holding a gun and shooting, do you think I can't fight?"

Wang Qiang knew that Zhao Youcai was a skilled marksman, but it was this feeling of "I am not as good as him" that made Wang Qiang very uncomfortable.

Wang Qiang was still young when his father, Wang Dabazhang, passed away. But Wang Qiang remembered his father telling him one thing: one should never lose one's integrity.

Therefore, when the Zhao family father and son were about to compete in marksmanship and determine the ultimate weapon, Wang Qiang resolutely joined in.

"Qiangzi, how can you talk to your brother-in-law like that?" At this moment, Zhao Ling came over and tugged at Wang Qiang.

Zhao Youcai has a stubborn personality, but he's a decent person overall. Zhao Ling usually treats her brother-in-law with great respect.

"Get up here, don't get involved." Wang Qiang waved for Zhao Ling to move aside, then added, "My brother-in-law and I didn't argue or anything. We were just comparing who shoots better, so what?"

"Okay, okay, okay." It was Zhao Youcai who said this, nodding and smiling as he said okay.

After uttering the three words, Zhao Youcai looked at Zhao Jun and asked, "Son, shall we have a competition between the three of us?"

When Zhao Youcai said this, he didn't have a trace of his usual petty thoughts and calculations; instead, he seemed quite spirited.

"Let's have a competition, Dad!" Zhao Jun replied without hesitation, "We both have rare guns, so we have to have a competition!"

To be honest, no man in the world doesn't love guns at heart.

This has nothing to do with sentimentality or anything like that; this kind of love is something that's innate in a man's blood!

When Zhao Jun was a child, he couldn't buy toys, so he made guns out of wood. In recent years, some children have been making guns out of bicycle parts, and in a few more years, some will be making guns out of newspapers.

Further on, there were all sorts of plastic guns.

No matter what kind of gun it is, when children hold it and aim it at the air or objects, shouting and charging with their friends, a man's yearning for sharpness and power arises in his heart.

Children's lives are innocent and carefree, but as they grow up, marriage, family, work, and so on bind men. Life weighs them down, rules bind them, and they have to endure things and swallow their losses.

Zhao Youcai was like that; ever since he married Wang Meilan, he had worked at the forest farm and in the canteen.

Let alone that era, even back in 88, there were very few men in the entire Yong'an forest area who could cook.

Zhao Youcai didn't want to cook, but he had no choice because of the need for a stable job. After Zhao Chun and Zhao Jun came along, Zhao Youcai became even more obedient.

As the days go by, the rough edges are gradually smoothed out.

But as soon as Zhao Youcai touches a gun, the wildness, toughness, and arrogance hidden deep in his heart all come back at once!

Zhao Youcai is the same now. No matter what his status is at home, as long as he goes into the mountains with a gun in his hand, the heavy steel gun makes Zhao Youcai feel calm and his aura becomes terrifyingly strong.

As for Jin Xiaomei and Yang Yufeng, they privately thought that Zhao Youcai was being presumptuous, not living a good life but only thinking about going up the mountain every day.

Their thinking is not wrong, but beneath Zhao Youcai's taciturn exterior lies an unstoppable sharpness in his heart.

In fact, Wang Qiang was the same. As the second young master of the Wang family, although his family had fallen on hard times since he was a child, Wang Qiang never lacked food or drink. The bag of things that Zhao Youcai brought back for him was enough for Wang Qiang's family to live on.

Under those circumstances, Wang Meilan didn't want Wang Qiang to go up the mountain, after all, he was her only brother and the only son of the Wang family.

But neither Wang Meilan nor Zhao Ling could stop Wang Qiang, and Wang Qiang was different from Zhao Youcai.

Zhao Youcai went up the mountain with his brothers and dogs, but Wang Qiang and Zhou Chengguo followed a similar path, both going about their hunting business alone. Such people are inherently proud and aloof.

Having experienced both great rise and fall in his previous life, Zhao Jun had become utterly humbled. Upon his rebirth, Zhao Jun was filled with confusion and uncertainty.

It wasn't until he was reborn and touched the Type 56 semi-automatic rifle for the first time in the east room of the Zhou family that the passion that had been buried deep in his heart in his previous life was instantly awakened in this life.

I don't know how we got to this point today, but if it comes down to a gunfight, Zhao Jun won't back down.

Not only him, but Zhao Youcai and Wang Qiang were also in the same situation at this moment.

When Zhao Jun accepted the challenge, Zhao Youcai said nothing, only nodding slightly.

"Come on, call the kids home." Wang Qiang then stood up and said to Zhao Ling, "Get them ready and go to bed early!"

Wang Qiang is conserving his energy to prepare for tomorrow's shooting competition.

Wang Tian and Wang Xue were playing outside with Zhao Hong and the others. Kids are like that; they're not afraid of the cold, the heat, or mosquito bites when they're playing.

Upon hearing Wang Qiang and Zhao Ling call them home, Wang Tian and Wang Xue immediately started grumbling.

“Let’s go too.” After Zhang Yuanmin finished speaking, he called his daughter, Xiaolingdang, who was the most obedient. With her cooperation, Wang Tian and Wang Xue stopped making a sound, and the other children also went home with their parents.

Wang Ya left with Zhao Weipeng's family. When they left the Zhao family compound, Liang Xuemei and Old Lady Zhao each held one of her little hands.

Inside the Zhao family compound, three members of the Li family walked out together.

"Sixth Brother," Li Dayong called to Li Dazhi, "When you get to the office tomorrow, go to our dispatch office and ask Team Leader Wu for a day off for me."

"What are you doing, brother?" Li Dazhi looked at Li Dayong in surprise. The two brothers were together every day, and he didn't think Li Dayong had anything to do that required him to ask for leave.

"Just tell me I ate something wrong, that I got an upset stomach," Li Dayong said. Li Dazhi pursed his lips and said, "I'm asking you, what are you going to do on leave?"

"Ah, hehe." Li Dayong chuckled and said, "Well... I'll go support my older brother tomorrow."

"You...you really have too much free time," Li Dazhi retorted mercilessly. Jin Xiaomei chimed in, "I think so too!"

"Dad, come on, don't bother asking for leave." Just then, Li Baoyu interjected with a smile, "If your older brother meets my older brother, he's bound to lose."

"Get the hell out of here!" Li Dayong pretended to hit him, and Li Baoyu quickly retreated behind his wife.

"Don't make Dad angry." Liu Mei lightly retorted to Li Baoyu. At this moment, they walked out of the Zhao family compound, and Li Baoyu and Liu Mei turned to the side and went home.

After entering the house, Liu Mei criticized Li Baoyu, saying, "Why are you so stubborn with Dad?"

“You don’t understand,” Li Baoyu laughed. “We’re just working for different masters, hehe.”

"You're kidding me." Liu Mei glared at Li Baoyu and said angrily, "What I said, you might be able to handle it, but don't come into my bed tonight!"

Liu Mei's words were a subtle way of subtly hinting at Li Baoyu's intentions. To Liu Mei's surprise, Li Baoyu nodded and said, "Yes, I need to conserve my energy. Tomorrow I'll go and support my brother!"

Hearing Li Baoyu's words, Liu Mei took a deep breath, turned around and went back into the house.

The young couple washed their faces and got into bed.

Li Baoyu was young and healthy, and he fell asleep quickly; his head hit the pillow and he was asleep almost immediately.

Then, Li Baoyu had a magnificent dream.

On the flat plains, two military camps stood facing each other across a dangerous terrain.

The camp consisted of rows upon rows of large cowhide tents, with flagpoles standing like a forest.

Interestingly, in both camps, the banners fluttering in the wind bore the character "Li".

In the central tent of the eastern camp, Li Baoyu, dressed in golden helmet and armor and wearing a bright red cloak, stood in front of a hand-drawn map. He held an oil lamp in one hand for illumination and traced the mountains and rivers on the map with his fingertips.

"General, it's getting late, you should get some rest." Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind the low table where the military advisor was sitting. For some reason, the man was mumbling incoherently.

Li Baoyu turned around and saw that it was Zhang Yuanmin who was speaking. However, this Zhang Yuanmin had no nose, so his voice was the one that made the noise.

"Alas!" Under the dim light, Li Baoyu sighed and said, "Li Dayong's martial arts are no less than mine, and he is also cunning and calculating. He predicted that our army would have difficulty transporting grain, so he held his ground and waited for our supplies to run out and for us to retreat without a fight!"

"General, don't be anxious." Zhang Yuanmin muttered again, "I have a plan. We can get that old scoundrel Dayong to come out of the camp and challenge our army to battle."

Upon hearing this, Li Baoyu's eyes lit up, and he pointed at Zhang Yuanmin, saying, "What plan? Tell me quickly!"

Zhang Yuanmin revealed a sly smile and said, "General, you can find a few pieces of women's clothing and send them to the rebel Zhao camp as a gift for that old thief Dayong. If he has any shame, he will surely come out of the camp and fight our army."

Upon hearing Zhang Yuanmin's words, Li Baoyu shook his head and said, "Li Dayong is a patient and prudent man. I'm afraid this plan of yours will be useless."

Hearing Li Baoyu say this, Zhang Yuanmin was not discouraged and simply said, "Then we'll use 'spy'."

"Use a room?" Li Baoyu was taken aback. At this moment, Zhang Yuanmin wanted to whisper a few words in Li Baoyu's ear. However, due to the large height difference between them, Li Baoyu had no choice but to bend down and lower his head.

No one knows what Zhang Yuanmin whispered in Li Baoyu's ear, but Li Baoyu's eyes lit up, and as he stood up, he called out to the outside of the tent, "Someone come here!"

Outside the main tent, Xie Chen stood solemnly, sword in hand. Hearing the commotion inside, Xie Chen entered, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands in a fist salute to Li Baoyu, saying, "What are your orders, Commander?"

"Summon Registrar Li immediately for a meeting," Li Baoyu ordered, and Xie Chen obeyed and left.

The scene in the dream shifted, and Li Ruhai appeared in the tent, cupping his fists to Li Baoyu and saying, "General!"

"Bang!" Li Baoyu slammed his hand on the table, raised his halberd and pointed it at Li Ruhai, shouting, "Why don't you kneel before me? Guards! Drag him out and behead him!"

"Huh?" Li Ruhai was shocked and immediately knelt down to admit his mistake. Zhang Yuanmin spoke up for him, "General, with a formidable enemy at hand, why not let Clerk Li atone for his crime by performing meritorious service?"

"Alright!" Li Baoyu agreed quickly, immediately dismissing the guards. He then walked up to Li Ruhai and said, "Chief Clerk Li, Li Dayong, a subordinate of the rebel Zhao, is now stubbornly holding his camp and refusing to engage in battle. Military Advisor Zhang and I have discussed it and decided to send someone to feign surrender. Then, we can coordinate an attack from within and without to defeat the enemy!"

Since it's a dream, the logic isn't always so rigorous. Li Baoyu didn't know the specifics of how the inside and outside would work together, but he simply thought the plan was feasible.

"A feigned surrender?" Li Ruhai frowned upon hearing this and said, "I wonder how many men the commander-in-chief plans to send to feign surrender? I'd like to select some suitable men from the army."

As soon as Li Ruhai finished speaking, Li Baoyu raised one finger.

"Huh?" Li Ruhai was taken aback, and at that moment Li Baoyu pointed his finger at Li Ruhai.

"I'll go by myself?" Li Ruhai blurted out in plain language.

Faced with Li Ruhai's questioning, Zhang Yuanmin leaned over and scoffed, "Indeed!"

"Please, General, rescind your order!" Li Ruhai turned around and knelt down before Li Baoyu again, his voice trembling with tears. "I have followed my lord since childhood, and my loyalty and devotion are known to all. I went to feign surrender, and the next day I will be beheaded by Li Dayong as a sacrifice to the flag."

"You bastard!" Li Baoyu kicked Li Ruhai to the ground, then angrily pointed at him and said, "Military orders are absolute; disobeying them is punishable by death! Guards!"

Li Baoyu stood tall and imposing, while Li Ruhai wept bitterly. Zhang Yuanmin quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, saying to Li Ruhai, "Don't worry, Chief Clerk Li, I have a foolproof plan!"

"What foolproof plan?" Li Ruhai shook his head, wiping away his tears, and said, "I will surely die if I go there!"

“Registrar Li, please hear me out,” Zhang Yuanmin said. “My plan is a complex scheme.”

"A series of schemes?" Li Ruhai was taken aback, then heard Zhang Yuanmin continue, "A series of schemes is one link after another. And the most crucial link is the self-inflicted injury scheme."

"A self-inflicted injury ruse?" Li Ruhai sensed something was wrong as soon as he heard this, but Zhang Yuanmin nodded with a smile and said, "Registration Li can cut off his own arm, change his name to 'Bitter Man' and join the rebel Zhao army. That old thief Da Yong will not suspect anything."

Zhang Yuanmin's words made Li Ruhai turn pale. Just then, Li Baoyu pulled out a sword from somewhere and threw it in front of Li Ruhai.

Looking at the precious sword before him, Li Ruhai couldn't help but burst into tears.

Seeing that Li Ruhai was hesitant to make a move, Li Baoyu picked up his sword from the ground and muttered to himself, "Since ancient times, a kind heart has never been a good commander. Don't blame me, Chief Clerk Li!"

As he spoke, Li Baoyu swung his sword.

"Ah..." Li Ruhai let out a scream, but to Li Baoyu, the sound was that of a woman's scream.

Li Baoyu was awakened by the shout, and then he heard Liu Mei scolding him: "Are you sick? Why did you hit me?"

"Wife, I overslept..." Li Baoyu hurriedly apologized, but Liu Mei angrily turned over and ignored him.

At this moment, Li Baoyu quickly closed his eyes, thinking, "That dream was so wonderful, I'd better go to sleep and see if I can continue it."