Chapter 430: Striving to Achieve the KPI (Part 10) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"The lord has returned?"

Bai Su made no attempt to hide her joy.

But I still remember there was a nominal princess next to me.

She said, "This humble general will not disturb Your Highness's rest any longer. Please follow the doctor's advice and take good care of your pregnancy."

Princess Wang stopped her, saying, "General Bai, wait a moment."

"Does Your Highness have any further instructions?" Bai Su's mind had already flown outside the carriage, and even her voice carried a hint of perfunctoriness.

Princess Wangji sensed the displeasure in her words, pursed her lips, and said timidly, "The safe return of Lord Shen is a joyous occasion, and I wish to go with General Bai to offer my congratulations..."

Bai Su rejected the suggestion without even thinking about it.

Wang Ji herself couldn't see it, but she could see it clearly: the former's face was deathly pale, as if she could faint at any moment. She was also a pregnant woman who had been frightened all night, so she should take the time to rest.

"This is inappropriate."

Princess Wang Ji did not insist.

Bai Su was finally allowed to leave, and she practically jumped off the train, struggling to suppress her excitement. Because of what happened last night, her heart had been in turmoil for most of the night, and she had considered rushing back several times. But she couldn't do that, and Gu Wangchao wouldn't allow it either.

Now that she has heard that her lord has returned safely, how can she truly feel at ease without seeing him unharmed with her own eyes?

Bai Su rode her horse and galloped over.

Unfortunately, we were still a little too slow.

Xianyu Jian and the others arrived before her.

Gu Wangchao was the first to arrive.

Despite his decisive and seemingly confident retreat last night, he was actually quite anxious, practically crouching at the very end of the column. He was there to spot their lord the moment they appeared. And then—

He saw it, he did see it.

But then they saw that their lord was riding a horse with Jiang Sheng.

Gu Chi: "..."

From afar, Shen Tang saw Gu Wangchao standing tall in the wind, his hands tucked into his sleeves. He held the reins in one hand and waved at Gu Chi with the other, laughing heartily. The motorcycle beneath him seemed to sense her joy and quickened its pace.

The sound of hooves drew near and stopped not far from Gu Chi.

"Whoa—"

Shen Tang tightened the reins, and the motorcycle immediately came to a stop.

"...Wangchao is so worried about me that he's been waiting here so early in the morning?" Shen Tang jumped off the motorcycle and ran forward, asking with a smile, "Was the retreat smooth? No one saw us, right?"

Gu Chi's gaze fell on Jiang Sheng, who was leading the motorcycle forward, but he quickly looked away.

He replied, "Everything is going well. How about on my lord's side?"

Shen Tang put one hand on her hip and gave a thumbs-up with the other.

With a smug air, like a peddler praising his own wares, he chuckled and said, "A true expert's skill is evident from the first move! That fool Su Shiyilu was completely fooled. Right now, he's probably moved by my heroic act of 'sacrificing himself to save others.'"

Of course, Jiang Sheng's "stroke of genius" in the dark also played a part, successfully frightening Su Shiyilu.

Otherwise, if Su Shiyilu stayed behind to "fight side by side," Shen Tang and her companion would have difficulty escaping. She also couldn't very well fake her death in front of that old fox Su Shiyilu; she probably wouldn't be able to fool him. The current situation is perfect!

Although Gu Chi couldn't imagine that scene, judging from his lord's incessant inner monologue—

That scene must be quite comical.

He said, “That’s good. My lord must be tired after a long night. Let the cook prepare some hot porridge to warm his stomach.”

Not long after they finished speaking, Xianyu Jian and the others arrived upon hearing the news. Seeing that their lord was in good spirits, they knew he was alright. Bai Su couldn't contain herself any longer; her eyes quickly reddened, and she almost burst into tears of joy. This made Shen Tang quite embarrassed.

Whether intentionally or unintentionally, Gu Chi seemed not to have seen Jiang Sheng. Only Xianyu Jian and a few others, unaware of the situation, went to inquire about the strategist's condition. Jiang Sheng waved his hand repeatedly, a smile on his face, but his gaze towards Gu Chi was somewhat subtle.

His colleagues...

They're all quite annoying.

The group temporarily camped out here, and the cooks prepared food early in the morning. Not long after Shen Tang and his companion sat down, a bowl of dried meat porridge and dry rations were brought over. Smelling the aroma of the food, Shen Tang realized that he was already starving.

He ate two whole buckets by himself.

"Phew—I'm full." The feeling of fullness after a night of travel filled her with happiness. Compared to her wolfing down her food, Jiang Sheng ate gracefully and elegantly. She put down her chopsticks and bowl, and Jiang Sheng did the same, taking out a handkerchief to wipe the corners of her mouth.

"Where is Princess?"

Jiang Sheng just wanted to see the complete map of Shiwubu Defense so he could determine who the next target would be.

Bai Su replied, "Reporting to the strategist, Her Highness has been traveling all night and has suffered a miscarriage. She is currently resting in the carriage."

Shen Tang: "Then let's wait another half day. Our soldiers didn't get a good rest last night either, so let's rest and recuperate here first."

Jiang Sheng frowned, but said nothing.

According to him, he would personally wake the princess and force her to hand over the rest of the defense plans. However, given his lord's temperament, he couldn't bring himself to do something so rude and ungentle. Waiting half a day was fine.

Wang Ji didn't make them wait that long either.

After drinking the medicine to prevent miscarriage that the doctor had personally prepared, he suddenly remembered something and forced himself to ask someone to fetch Bai Su.

"Does Your Highness have any instructions?"

"General Bai, I have something here that I would like to ask you to personally deliver to Lord Shen." Princess Wang knew very well what Shen Tang wanted from sending someone to save her. Now that she had miraculously survived, if she didn't hand it over, she feared she would offend him. It was better to tactfully hand it over before he remembered, hoping to gain his favor. As for why she specifically asked Bai Su to deliver it?

It was this General Bai who saved her life.

Entrusting Bai Su with the task of gaining favor through personal connections was also a kind gesture from her, even if Bai Su might not need it.

Immediately afterwards, Bai Su heard the rustling sound of clothes rubbing together as someone undressed inside the carriage.

After a long while, a pale hand emerged from behind the carriage curtain. She keenly guessed what was happening, her heart skipped a beat, and she took the silk handkerchiefs, still warm from her body and carrying a faint scent of perfume, with both hands. Each handkerchief was as thin as a cicada's wing, allowing a clear view of the scenery behind it; so thin as to be almost transparent. If folded individually, they would be only the size and thickness of a fingernail, making them extremely easy to conceal.

As expected—

Princess Wang explained, "To be on the safe side, this item has always been sewn into the lapel of my nightgown and has never been made by anyone else. It should still be in good condition. If it is damaged, I can repaint it for Lord Shen once I have recovered my strength. Please let me know."

"Your Highness has worked hard."

Princess Wang smiled bitterly: "I am no longer a princess. If General Bai does not mind, you may call me Chen Zhi."

"Propriety must not be disregarded." Bai Su did not agree.

She presented all the handkerchiefs to him.

After being pieced together, it indeed became an extremely complete and detailed map of Shiwubu Defense. Gu Chi looked at the map and clicked his tongue, saying, "If this is fake, how much effort would the forger have had to put in?"

You can even go bald from staying up all night.

Shen Tang took out the tragic picture that General Chu had given him earlier from his bosom and compared it with the picture he had pieced together. Not only did they match, but the picture given by the princess was obviously more accurate, which was very interesting.

If the princess is truly a one-to-one replica, with even the smallest corrections matching the original, then the person who drew this defense map must have been deep within the Ten Crows for a long time and be a master of stealth. Otherwise, how could they have gathered such detailed intelligence?

What's even more intriguing is—who owns this painting? Given Princess Wang's previous status and life trajectory, she shouldn't have had access to such a secret. How did it fall into her hands? What is her purpose? Unfortunately, they have no clue and can only put it aside for the time being.

With a map, the operational deployment has direction.

“We should be here…” Shen Tang stared at the map for a long time but still couldn’t quite understand it, until Jiang Sheng pointed to a spot and said, “The nearest tribe is here…”

Shen Tang: "It's a large tribe with over four thousand people."

Why pick such a big one right away?

Because of the scattered lifestyle of the Shiwu people, each tribe varies in size. A tribe with more than a thousand people is considered a small to medium-sized tribe…

Jiang Sheng also had his own considerations.

“If you choose a small tribe with a population of several hundred, you might alert the enemy.” For safety, small tribes tend to live close together and spread out densely. This makes it easier to defend against wild animals, and if attacked, they can band together for mutual support and protection.

If you launch a blitzkrieg against a small tribe, any survivors will attract other small tribes from nearby areas.

Our whereabouts would be easily exposed.

on the contrary--

Tribes with strong individual members tend to be more "independent".

Their tribe alone could control the abundant natural resources in the vicinity, grazing and hunting for their own use, and no other small tribe dared to compete with them for territory and water resources. Even if there were external enemies, their own strength was sufficient to deal with them, making it an ideal choice.

(`)

Helping a friend promote their new book!

A veteran author of ancient Chinese romance novels, her new novel is worth looking forward to.

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P.S.: I feel a bit better today, and I'm practically counting down the days until March... Sigh, when will this ever end?

(End of this chapter)