From the bottom's perspective:
In the hungriest year of his life, Yan Li crouched outside a border city, robbing foreign merchants passing by. He wanted neither money nor lives, just dry rations and water. A masked stranger took pity on his poverty and bought him a filling meal. Then he pulled out two strips of smoked meat and asked Yan Li to assassinate a military governor who had only recently seized control of the area.
For a former Wolf Guard who had once served under the Khan of the Rouran, that payment was downright paltry. Fortunately, Yan Li wasn't an ordinary Wolf Guard. He was a simple-minded fellow who was easy to fool.
A meal made you his benefactor, and risking his life for a benefactor was only natural. So he grabbed his knife and went.
From the top's perspective:
Ying Lin transmigrated, and the moment he arrived, his brothers roped him into helping conquer the land. After finally letting loose and going hunting, he was ambushed by an assassin hired to kill him and nearly lost his life.
Afterward, he caught the assassin and asked what reward he had been promised. The assassin replied, "Two strips of smoked meat."
The great military governor Ying, who ruled three commanderies, could only feel that the value of his life had plummeted in that instant.
Risking your life for a bite to eat in a chaotic age could only mean you were truly desperate. Ignoring his advisor's disapproving look, Ying Lin let the man go. Just before he left, he remarked offhandedly, "If you can bring your employer's head back to me, I'll give you three strips of smoked meat."
The assassin was released in the morning.
The man who hired him was beheaded by evening.
The renowned general Ying Lin had only ever encountered in history books before transmigrating joined his ranks that very day.
The legend of an invincible warrior began that day.
**
A very clichéd emperor-and-general pairing: wise ruler top * loyal dog bottom
Each other's moonlight, each other's biggest fan
Mutual pining, but they're both as dense as logs
Theme: A gentleman dies for one who understands him.
