How To Survive as a Villain-Chapter 44: The Necessary Conditions for Being the Right-Hand of the Male Lead.
In February, the snow was covering the old General Sun’s official residence.
The old General Sun, who rarely took a rest, was coughing and saying that he was failing as a hero.
Madam Sun patted him on the back scolding him: “Your old arms and legs still run everyday to the barracks for training. Can’t you take a good rest for a few days!”
General Sun had been on the battlefield for many years, galloping around the world, making everyone around him fear him, but he…
He was afraid of his wife.
“Keep it down in case someone hears you.” General Sun blushed, and his voice was similar to the one of a mosquito.
Madam Sun slapped him on the back and said: “To hell with keeping it down. Did you drink the medicine or not!”
“Yes, yes.” General Sun muttered.
“Humph.” Madam Sun put one hand on her hips. Her hair was completely silver, but her appearance still gave the impression of a coquettish young girl.
Suddenly, a young manservant came from outside making an announcement: “Daren1, General Li came asking for advice.”
General Sun quickly cleared his throat and regained his authority: “Let him wait for me at the reception hall, I’ll go now.”
The young man replied affirmatively and quickly retreated.
Madam Sun helped General Sun get dressed, and walking side by side, they approached the reception hall.
In the reception hall stood a young man with upright features. He was eight feet tall, and he had an aura of flourishing might. When he saw the old General Sun, he knelt down first, and then stood up to help his elder.
“Wuding-xianzhi2, why did you come so suddenly? Is something wrong with the barracks?” General Sun was nervous.
Li Wuding shook his head: “I heard that the General was unwell, so I searched for some tonics3…”
“With such a leisure mind, it’s better to train your troops!!” The old General Sun scolded him.
Li Wuding knelt down with his fist clenched: “The General’s lesson is right.”
“Oh, you, the young man was being kind.” Madam Sun was angry at him, and then, she smiled at Li Wuding: “Wuding has good intentions.”
On the surface, General Sun blew his beard and glared with anger, but behind his back, he secretly pulled Madam Sun’s sleeve.
Madam Sun clearly understood his intentions, so she quickly said: “Wuding, get up, there’s no need to kneel down.”
Suddenly, a young manservant came to report: “His Majesty is coming!!”
The three people in the reception hall were shocked. Li Wuding wanted to avoid arousing suspicions: “General Sun, I’ll take my leave.”
The old General Sun waved his hand, and Li Wuding left the reception hall. He wanted to go through the side door, but he didn’t expect to collide with the Emperor, so he had to kneel down and pay his respect: “Weichen Li Wuding pays his respects to His Majesty.”
Xiao YuAn just told Xie Chunguin to wait for him outside, and out of nowhere, someone bowed and kneeled in front of him. For a long time he couldn’t react, and after coming out of his initial shock, he repeated the man’s name twice, and then, sighed inside his heart.
Li Wuding?!
This, this, this, Isn’t this the second male?!
In the original book, after General Sun got so angry at the Emperor that he returned to his hometown, there were two candidates for the General’s position.
One of them was a close friend of General Sun, Li Wuding. Li Wuding is a brave and resourceful man.
And the other one was just another good for nothing4 that won a military post due to his relationship with Wunning Wangye. Attempting nothing and accomplishing nothing5, relying on his force to bully others6.
In any case, the general’s position should’ve been given to Li Wuding, the old General Sun’s close friend. However, the Young Monarch, who was daily courting disaster, gave that position to that Fan Tong instead. From then on, the Northern Kingdom’s army had become sloppy; the soldiers didn’t have any motivation, and even the scandals that they were oppressing the common people were being reported almost every day.
When Yan HeQing led his army to fight over the territory, Li Wuding was sent to the front line to defend against the enemy by General Fan Tong. And his strategy was to not give the army any food! On a snowy and freezing day, the soldiers on the front line were not given any rations, they were simply forced to die!
Li Wuding left the following sentence behind him: It’s not worth to sacrifice our lives for a country where treacherous officials are in power. Then, he led his troops to Yan HeQing’s side.
Yes, he’s a traitor!!!
Later, when Yan HeQing ruled the whole world, Li Wuding made great contributions to his cause.
However, this is a stallion novel!
And he’s the right-hand of the stallion protagonist!
Generally speaking, the last part of this book goes something like this: While Yan HeQing was flirting with a young woman, Li Wuding was studying the art of war. While Yan HeQing was unlocking a new posture in bed, he’s studying the art of war. When Yan HeQing is looking for a new girl, he’s studying the art of war. Yan HeQing has received a new member to his harem, and Li Wuding is still studying the art of war.
Then, when Yan HeQing said: “Let’s fight the Eastern Wu.”
He just said, let’s go.
After the territory of the Eastern Wu was captured, Yan HeQing continued to flirt with the young girls of the Eastern Wu, and Li Wuding, the right-hand, continued to study the art of war in the Eastern Wu.
While Yan HeQing was surrounded by so many beautiful women that it resembled clouds. What surrounded the right-hand of the protagonist…Was a pile of military books.
They’re fighting for the same cause, however, how come the difference between them is so big?
It’s… Too… Awful.
Although, as the Emperor of the Northern Kingdom, Xiao YuAn resented Li Wuding; as a reader, how could he……
Do anything but laugh?
“Get up.” Xiao YuAn coughed softly to cover up his smile. “What are you doing in the General’s official residence?”
“Answering to His Majesty.” Li Wuding got up. “I came to pay a visit to General Sun.”
Xiao YuAn nodded and went towards the reception hall of the General’s official residence. Madam Sun had already left, and the old General Sun was kneeling on the ground.
Xiao YuAn quickly picked him up and helped him to sit down on the chair, then, he explained the intentions of his visit.
“The youngest son of the Xie Family, Xie Chungui?” General Sun was surprised.
“Yes, it’s him.”
Since he was appointed by the Emperor, General Sun naturally didn’t dare to neglect, so he quickly got up and went to meet him. Unexpectedly, the young manservant outside the door suddenly ran in with a roar: “Daren, it’s bad, Daren. General Li and his Majesty’s companion are f-f-fi-fight-…”
Xiao YuAn: “The… the river flows eastward7….?”
The young manservant finally managed to say it in one breath: “They’re fighting!!!”
Footnotes:
Footnotes
大人 dà ren; (Archaic) person of high rank, such as a ruler or noble / (Honorific) Your Excellency; His Excellency, form of address to a higher-up.贤侄 xián zhí; It’s a way of calling a nephew of a younger generation / my good nephew. 贤 xián = worthy or virtuous person / honorific used for a person of the same or a younger generation. 侄 zhí = nephew by the male line / one’s nephew or the son of one’s friend.补品 bǔ pǐn; foods or medicines of highly nutritious value.Xiao YuAn deliberately calls Fan Tong = 饭桶 (fàn tǒng) which translates to “Good for nothing”, but Fan Tong’s actual name is 范统 (fàn tǒng). They sound the same, but they’re written with different characters. One’s an insult and the other one is a name.无所作为 wú suǒ zuò wéi; It’s a Chinese idiom, it means not having made any achievements / Being content with the status quo and lacking creativity in work / Without any initiative or drive. From 《朱子语类·论语七》(zhū zi yǔ lèi·lún yǔ qī), “Master Zhu Language Category: The 7th Analect of Confucius”. Written by (朱熹 Zhū Xī) Zhu Xi or Chu Hsi [1130-1200], also known as Master Zhu, a Confucian writer and propagandist, founder of neo-Confucianism, from the Song Dynasty [960-1279].仗势欺人 zhàng shì qī rén; It’s a Chinese idiom, it means to take advantage of one’s or somebody else’s power to bully people / Bully others on the strength of one’s powerful connections or position / Have powerful backing and bully the common people. From 《西厢记》(xī xiāng jì), “Romance of the West Chamber”. Written by (王实甫 wáng shí fǔ) Wang Shifu [1295-1307], a writer from the Yuan or Mongol Dynasty [1279-1368].This is a miscommunication; the manservant was saying “打 dǎ” [lit. to beat / to hit / etc.] because he wanted to say “打起来了 dǎ qǐláile” [lit. fight] but Xiao YuAn heard: “大 dà” and then completed it with “大河向东流 dàhé xiàng dōng liú” [the river flows eastward] which is a lyric from the song 好汉歌 hǎo hàn gē / Hero’s song, a theme song of the tv series “Water Margin” and sung by (刘欢 liú huān) Liu Huan.
