Chapter 184 The Treasures Left Behind by Our Ancestors

“Ah!”

The stone hit an ape soldier who was foraging in the distance right on target. It cried out in pain and touched its head, its hands covered in blood.

The ape soldier had been fed with special potions by the witch doctor and was particularly sensitive to blood. The stinging pain at this time stimulated his brain, and he roared with excitement.

Its cry immediately attracted other ape soldiers who were foraging for food. They all roared and walked towards Zhao Yuntian, surrounding the ape soldier with bleeding forehead.

Zhao Yuntian saw his bloodshot eyes and how excited he was. He thought of the time when he was pounced on by the black ape and almost...

"Witch doctor! Witch doctor, where are you!"

Zhao Yuntian shouted loudly and ran away.

The ape soldiers behind him were chasing him relentlessly. He jumped onto a big tree and caught up with the ape soldiers under the tree. They climbed up the tree in a few seconds, and their speed was faster than Zhao Yuntian!

Zhao Yuntian secretly groaned, he forgot that monkeys are masters at climbing trees!

Several ape soldiers separated and surrounded him. Seeing that the ape soldiers were about to grab his clothes, he had no way to retreat and had to jump down from the tree.

The ape soldiers waiting at the roots of the tree rushed up and surrounded him. He rushed left and right and had to swing his palms to injure several ape soldiers.

“That’s enough!”

The witch doctor, who had not responded for a long time, let out a low roar, and a melodious flute sounded, and the ape soldiers slowly quieted down.

"Did you give them some medicine again?"

The early summer sun was scorching hot. Zhao Yuntian wiped the sweat from his forehead and questioned the witch doctor sitting on the tree branch with a dissatisfied tone.

The witch doctor glanced at him contemptuously and answered the question irrelevantly.

"Bai Li is not in Qianxi but in Yuanzhou. Let's take the ape soldiers to find her."

"Can your information be more accurate?

We were only a few days away from Yuanzhou, but we insisted on coming to Qianxi.

I met Nangong Min on the way and suffered a great loss. Now he says he is in Yuanzhou. Is this news true or false?!"

Zhao Yuntian vented all his dissatisfaction and irritability at once. The witch doctor only showed a pair of deep eyes, staring at him dangerously, and his voice was as cold as a ghost from hell.

"You may not believe it, but don't talk to me in that tone."

For no reason, Zhao Yuntian felt a chill down his spine. A chill rushed from the soles of his feet up to the top of his head, and the hairs all over his body stood up.

It was so hot that I broke out in a cold sweat.

Seeing the fear in his eyes, the witch doctor nodded in satisfaction.

"Let's go!"

Zhao Yuntian didn't dare to say a word and followed his steps silently.

As the melodious flute sound faded away, the neatly arranged team of ape soldiers followed closely behind, heading towards Yuanzhou, a thousand miles away.

After the heavy rain, there was a sunny day with a cloudless blue sky and scorching sun every day.

Previously, the rain soaked the houses and fields. Now, under the sun, the soil of the houses has become loose and collapsed. The silt in the fields needs to be cleared and drained, and we need to hurry up to plant.

The people of Da Zhou had to take care of their families and their farms, and were so tired every day that they couldn't even stretch their backs.

But this is not the hardest thing to endure. The hardest thing is the lack of food.

The flood washed away the crops and drowned the seedlings, resulting in a total failure in the summer harvest.

Everyone had to tighten their belts and busy themselves with sowing, putting all their hopes on the autumn harvest.

"Your Majesty, food prices are rising everywhere. The people can't afford it, and I'm afraid it will cause unrest!"

"Your Majesty, flood relief efforts are needed across the country. When will the relief funds be distributed?"

Every day when Zhou Yu went to court, he heard officials crying poor and asking for money. He was really overwhelmed.

"Your Majesty, good news from Qianxi!"

"Pass it!"

A eunuch hurried up to the palace, leading a messenger.

Eunuch Li quickly went down to take the memorial and handed it to Zhou Yu with both hands.

Zhou Yu opened it and saw that the memorial was written by Nangong Min, which described in detail the battle with the Laotian army.

"Bai Li is indeed the lucky star of our Great Zhou!"

Zhou Yu couldn't say in front of all the officials that the Great Zhou was about to perish, and if Bai Li was a savior, he could only say that he was a lucky star, and stabilizing the government was the most important thing.

"Your Majesty, what does this mean?"

"In the battle between Qianxi and the Laotian army, it was Nangong Min who turned the tide of the battle by using weapons made by Baili."

"Bai Zongren's daughter, is she really that capable?"

The officials who were close to Zhao Defu were sarcastic and full of dissatisfaction.

"Qiu Aiqing, do you think this matter can be faked?"

Qiu Qianchi stepped out, lowered his head in fear and replied, "That's not what I meant."

“That’s not what I meant.

Eunuch Li, please convey my order. There are many doubts in Bai Zongren's case, and it will be retried by the Dali Temple.

Now that the Great Zhou is in need of men, we should first restore the Bai family to common status and allow them to return to the battlefield and make more military achievements. We will then reward them according to their merits.”

After Zhou Yu said this, although there were whispers among the audience, no one dared to speak out.

Eunuch Li promptly announced: "If you have something to report, please report it. If not, please withdraw the court!"

No one spoke. After a long while, someone stepped forward tremblingly and said, "Your Majesty, the military pay for the various camps has been in arrears for two months, and the military supplies and fodder are even more urgent!"

"I understand. I will transfer it in two days."

Zhou Yu waved his hand and announced the adjournment of the court.

Returning to the imperial study, Zhou Yu lightly held his forehead with a frown.

Now that the war has begun, all kinds of supplies are in short supply.

The national treasury is empty. If the war continues for a few more months, the Great Zhou will be defeated without a fight due to poverty!

With Bai Li now in the war, tens of thousands of troops have been added, but with more people, there will be more consumption. Da Zhou is not rich to begin with, and now he has to use up even his own private treasury to maintain the status quo.

It would be great if Bai Zongren could find the treasure in Qianxi. That was left to him by his ancestors, who said it could only be used when the Great Zhou was in a critical moment of life and death. Isn’t that the time now?

Unfortunately, Bai Zongren went to the battlefield, and it is unknown when he will have time to start looking for the treasure.

In the capital, Zhou Yu was worried about the people's livelihood every day, while in Yuanzhou, Baili was annoyed by the King of Jin.

After the King of Jin recovered, he sent troops to disturb the people every day. Yuanzhou had few troops to begin with, and now they had to disperse them to protect the people. The city was short of troops, and the King of Jin led 50,000 soldiers to besiege the city, and he almost succeeded.

"Marshal Bai, the soldiers outside the city can't return. There are less than 5,000 soldiers in the city. We have fallen into the trap set by the King of Jin!"

Bai Li was secretly anxious, but he didn't show it on his face.

The soldiers sent out were led by her father and uncle. When they saw the Simon Army besieging Yuanzhou City, they would not be foolish enough to rush into their encirclement.

What we are worried about now is that there are not enough troops in the city. Even if there are eight-ox crossbows and repeating crossbows, no one will use them.

After firing a wave of Eight Ox Crossbows, King Jin had found the weakness of the Eight Ox Crossbows. Taking advantage of the gap when the crossbows were being wound, he ordered his death squad to form the rear, while all the soldiers focused on attacking the city.

"Marshal Bai, Simon is attacking the city in large numbers, and we don't have enough archers. We can't hold them back!"

Li Dazhuang came hurriedly to report, Wu Lanzhi and Luo Yang also happened to arrive, and the three of them came in together.

"Marshal Bai..."

"You don't have to tell me, I know everything. We are short of manpower."

Bai Li raised his hand to stop them before they could speak.