Chapter 1329: A Deceptive Maneuver (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

Gu De’s words were completely candid.

Even a seasoned and shrewd officer like the captain couldn't detect a trace of hypocrisy in his words. However, past experience told him that even if the owner of a scholar's words were dead, one could only be half-convinced, never completely trusted! The captain remained noncommittal to Gu De's words, simply tucking the several replies into his robes: "If your dean had even a fraction of your cunning, he wouldn't have died there..."

That dean was just too straightforward.

In his view, nothing in this world was more important than his own life, especially an academy. To perish with the academy in flames was an utterly foolish act. But since the man was already gone, and the dead should be respected, the captain did not want to continue criticizing this wooden-headed friend of a different age: "Considering your relationship with the academy's headmaster, I will spare your life. Don't try anything funny."

Gu De cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you, Commandant."

"Don't thank me yet. If I find any dirt on you, I'll send you to see your family's dean sooner or later."

The captain ordered his men to verify the truth of Gu De's words.

"...Were the two hundred-plus people he led really ordinary people?"

"They are indeed ordinary people, but more than half of them have some martial arts skills and are trained fighters." According to the subordinate's report, these two hundred-plus people are not comparable to the lowest-ranking nobles, but they are still warriors who have been on the battlefield and seen blood, and each of them has a cold killing intent in their eyes.

This makes perfect sense.

As far as the captain knew, Gu De was considered one of the second-in-commands in the warlord camp, so it was normal for him to have several hundred elite soldiers at his disposal. These two hundred men would be enough to deal with ordinary bandits, but they weren't enough to cause a bloodbath on his side.

"What about those frozen fish? Were they poisoned?"

"No, everything is good."

The sight of buckets of frozen fish made the subordinates' mouths water.

The camp was short of rations, and the governor of Sugyong County was stingy, only managing to squeeze out a little food after repeated urging and pleading. How could they defend the fortress if they weren't fed enough while marching and fighting? The subordinates had long harbored complaints, but the captain was mild-mannered and gentle, and this dignified military man was almost ridden around and bullied! It was truly infuriating!

The captain muttered, "That's really strange."

He then ordered his subordinates to investigate whether there were any suspicious persons in the vicinity.

"...Especially the prefect, have any unfamiliar faces appeared around him?" The captain was experienced and knew that these scholars and literati, though seemingly using countless tricks in battle, were actually all based on the same principles. They fought with force and military formations on the front lines, but behind the scenes they were all playing intrigue and treachery.

"Your subordinate obeys!"

"Why aren't you leaving yet?" Seeing his subordinate standing there like a block of wood, the captain became impatient. "Speak your mind."

Their dawdling and indecisiveness is really unpleasant to watch.

The subordinate stammered, "...Could those fish...?"

Even he hadn't had fresh fish soup in a long time.

"...If the military rations are still sufficient, then eat them for now. How come I didn't know you were so greedy? At your age, you'd eat anything anyone sends you?" You're thirty-one, how can you still trust people so easily and eat food they send you? Aren't you afraid of death!

His subordinates, feeling wronged, twisted their fingers in frustration after being reprimanded.

Even the captain found it offensive and waved his hand irritably, saying, "Go away, go away! Don't blame me if you die from eating this!"

Once the subordinate received permission, he happily went down to select fish.

Due to frequent wars, the river fish this season not only haven't lost weight, but have actually grown plump, with firm and elastic flesh. After cooking and removing any fishy smell, they have a smooth texture and no muddy taste whatsoever. Just add a few ingredients, and a pot of fish soup will make your mouth water.

He ate about half the pot, leaving not a drop of fish soup, and only after confirming that he hadn't gotten an upset stomach did he send the other half of the pot to the captain as a token of his respect.

"This fish is not poisonous."

The captain frowned as soon as he saw the river fish: "You must be really hungry."

This river fish boasts exceptional vitality and reproductive capabilities; it can grow to a considerable size by eating almost anything, thriving even in murky water. It's not picky about food, and adults can reach over four pounds. It's meaty, has few bones, and tastes delicious. Considering these advantages alone, it seems like a favorite river fish among fishermen. The problem is, this fish is too indiscriminate; it can even survive being fed animal manure…

When they are extremely hungry, they will even ambush living people who have gone into the water.

Some people survived the famine years thanks to them.

This fish must weigh over six pounds. Considering Lord Gu De's battle routes and the active areas of river fish, it's not hard to imagine how they grew so fat. Thinking about it makes me nauseous.

The subordinate chuckled and said, "Why would we need to pick and choose so many?"

The captain pushed the pot of fish soup away, saying, "I have no appetite."

His subordinates couldn't bear to waste the food, so the leftovers ended up in his stomach.

Despite his craving for food, this subordinate was quite reliable and soon found out about the governor of Suginaga County. There were no unfamiliar faces around him, no one in his residence was in contact with strangers, and there were no large numbers of strangers entering the county... On the other hand, the enemy's scouts were quite active, seemingly searching for someone.

The captain raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Looking for someone?"

Scouts are searching for people, but the troops are retreating from the defensive line.

Both behaviors were clearly a bit strange.

The captain couldn't help but have a thought—if someone were to betray the enemy on the spot, nine out of ten would be a bluff, but he had encountered the only genuine one.

The news of Gu De sending a large quantity of frozen fish hadn't escaped the prefect's notice; it had already reached his ears. He had expected the commandant to come and inform him, but no one came. His suppressed anger and dissatisfaction exploded: "What does the old man mean by this?"

In a time of widespread food shortages, he brazenly accepted a batch of food—sent from the enemy! Such a significant matter, and he didn't even consult me? He could have at least informed me! How dare he demand military pay three times a day?

The captain refused to send anyone over, so he sent someone over instead.

They did nothing else but ask for frozen fish.

The captain sneered, but his deputy couldn't stand it anymore.

"...Why doesn't the prefect go and see what the soldiers are eating all day? They've been dragging their feet on paying the soldiers' wages. How can they fight if they're not well-fed?" They finally get some meat, and this guy comes to demand it back? If he takes it, are the soldiers supposed to continue living at his mercy? Go and ask for three or four days' worth of wages each time?

Regarding the issue of military pay, the conflict between the two sides can be traced back to the previous governor of Suginaga County. In order to prevent military generals from becoming too powerful and causing local destruction, the royal court devised many measures, one of which was that military pay should be paid from local granaries, which were controlled by the governor. The previous governor of Suginaga County was only willing to allocate half a month's worth of pay at a time, and each time he would shortchange the amount, using this as leverage to control people.

Over time, how could the resentment between the two sides not deepen?

The captain was mild-mannered and rarely clashed with the prefect, but the people around him were different; they had long wanted him dead. The deputy general had found an opportunity last time, deliberately diverting the prefect's defenses so that a stray arrow could easily take the villain's life.

In retrospect, it was just an accident.

Arrows don't have eyes, and he was standing in the wrong place.

Before his death, the old prefect entrusted his responsibilities to his son, the current one, awaiting only the royal court's order to solidify the position. When the deputy general heard this news, his eyes nearly rolled back to the top of his head—on one hand, they were guarding against military figures growing powerful and controlling their own armies, and on the other hand, they were having the prefect follow the father-to-son succession system. Wasn't the royal court's precautions futile?

The new prefect suspected that his biological father's death was not an accident and communicated with the military commander several times, hoping that he would hand over the person who had neglected his duties at the time!

The captain naturally refused.

The new prefect, citing a shortage of grain in the granaries, only agreed to allocate seven days' worth of grain each time, and now he went even further, only providing four days' worth, practically blatantly defying him. Faced with this situation, the captain still did not retaliate.

His temper was so weak that even his own family couldn't stand it.

Faced with the deputy general's reprimand, the prefect seemed to have caught him red-handed, pressing him aggressively: "Is this your idea or the captain's idea? Are you accusing me of deliberately withholding your military pay? Then why don't you go and see how severe the food shortage is in the city? If it weren't for my control, could we have lasted this long with such meager rations?"

He had the confidence to say this.

In years when the economy was better, corruption was rampant in the army, and falsifying accounts and embezzling funds were even more serious problems. A military unit might have only 5,000 men, but dared to report 30,000 or 40,000 elite troops. The allocated military pay was secretly embezzled, combat effectiveness couldn't be improved, and the national treasury was completely depleted.

Sugyong County hadn't seen a similar scandal in many years, but precautions still needed to be taken. Furthermore, the Commandant was easily bullied, and the previous governor had easily lined his own pockets, relentlessly targeting honest people. The new governor was well aware of this, but in order to suppress the Commandant and avenge his father's death, he had no choice but to escalate the situation.

In his view, his behavior was upright and without fault.

The deputy general choked and blushed.

"you--"

The prefect bullied the honest man: "This is all ill-gotten gains of dubious origin. Why is the commander unwilling to take the proper route? What are your intentions? Or do you already have ulterior motives? If you have no ulterior motives, why are you being so secretive?"

If you really want to be honest, then hand it over.

He wasn't unaware that the other side might resort to desperate measures, but he also knew that grain was the reins around their necks. Once they had ample grain, the reins would loosen, and they would be harder to control. Most importantly, the captain was so honest and cowardly that he was outrageously weak; no matter how much he was pinched, he wouldn't react.

This is based on my father's experience of working with him for eighteen years.

The deputy general was so angry he almost had a heart attack.

Isn't this just sophistry? If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext.

The captain sighed, "I have nothing to fear if I am upright. If the prefect does not believe me, you may take me away. However, the camp's provisions are running low, and we have a formidable enemy eyeing us from the outside. I urge the prefect to prioritize the overall situation. Do not let the soldiers lose heart and jeopardize the overall mission!"

The lieutenant stomped his feet in anger, furious at his son's lack of ambition.

The prefect was surprised, and his worries vanished.

See? He said this person was made of clay, without any temper.

If this had happened to a military officer with even a little temper, the prefect would have come in standing up and left lying down, and wouldn't have been able to recover without being beaten half to death. The prefect bowed deeply to the commandant and said sarcastically, "The commandant is truly wise and understanding."

The deputy general was so angry that his blood pressure skyrocketed.

However, military orders are hard to obey, so he had no choice but to follow them.

"You—oh—"

Having such a mild-mannered boss is truly exasperating. If it weren't for the captain rescuing him from a pile of corpses and raising him as a son-in-law, with whom he shared a father-son bond, he would have flipped the table on the spot.

The captain secretly shook his head.

These frozen fish were all sent by Gu De. Before Gu De's identity and stance are fully clear, how can his things stay on our own territory? Sending them away, whether it's to divert trouble or something else, can reduce our own risks. Young people can't hold back.

Gu De, upon receiving this message: "???"

Is things progressing too smoothly?

Their original plan was merely to sow discord between the two sides, even without a complete breakdown in relations, so that they could launch a surprise attack from within while the defenses were lax. Who knew that the conflict between the two was far deeper than rumored, ultimately benefiting their own side.

"In this way, we may be able to act ahead of time."

The vast majority of the frozen fish were genuine. The lord sent people to fish them out of the water for a long time and also secretly searched among the people to barely gather this batch. The rest were disguised by his own people.

This disguise cannot last long.

"He's quite suspicious."

At the same time, I also have some minor doubts.

"You also doubt my timid nature?" The captain ordered the prefect to take away all the frozen fish, which caused quite a stir in the camp. The old men who had served him for over a decade came one after another to speak up for him. They all felt this was blatant disrespect.

How can we tolerate such a humiliating disgrace?

Gu De sighed and said, "I sincerely wanted to help the Commandant out of his urgent predicament, but your actions are truly disheartening."

His paranoia is so extreme that it makes one doubt that he is a scholar.

The captain wasn't buying Gu De's act at all: "Young man, don't try to sow discord between me and this old man. It won't work. Didn't your dean tell you that discord between civil and military officials is a major taboo? No matter how big the conflict is, it should at least be settled after the war. The prefect and his son do have many conflicts with me and have their own selfish motives, but compared to others, the father and son are already rare good people."

He had seen far too many evil spirits in human skin.

Compared to these, the prefect and his son were indeed more humane. Their subjects were simply starving, not dying of hunger and neglect.

This is also one of the main reasons why he was willing to tolerate it for so many years.

Gu De: "..."

He couldn't help but remind the other person, "You used to be so... submissive, it's really... incomprehensible."

The captain said, "I am also puzzled."

It's baffling where these young people get so much cunning.

Gu De: "..."

Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.

The frozen fish were all taken away by the prefect's men and stored near the granary. As the gate closed, the frozen fish in the wooden barrels suddenly moved. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that some fish were acting strangely; their eyes beneath the ice were moving slowly.

On a dark and windy night, the faint sound of dogs barking can be heard.

Something was quietly pushing upwards from beneath the layers of frozen fish.

"...Where was this sent?"

Ignoring the fishy smell clinging to her body, Shen Tang crawled out of the mountain of fish, her bones cracking and popping as her body gradually returned to normal. She stretched her slightly frozen limbs, somewhat regretting her earlier bad idea. Qi Shan wasn't there, nor was Luan Xin; unable to use the ways of a scholar for disguise, Shen Tang could only rely on the methods of a martial artist to achieve her goal of hiding inside the fish.

The enemy couldn't find out, but they also suffered.

All complaints ceased upon discovering that the location was a granary.

Shen Tang: "...A granary? The enemy's granary?"

That captain is actually quite kind.

＿|￣|●

I was halfway through writing when a friend dragged me off to watch some gossip.

I ate a little bit, and I was furious that someone like that could get Xuanjing!