Chapter 441: Striving to Achieve the KPI (Twenty-One) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

"They've joined the Ten Crows? That can't be..." In Shen Tang's mind, these scholars and literati were quite principled and wouldn't help foreigners harm their own people. But then she thought again, and her idea might not be correct.

For nearly two centuries, hundreds of nations waged war against each other. If a generation lived long enough, they could change their nationality more than twice. In such a chaotic social context, even the strongest principles would be repeatedly trampled and ravaged by war and reality. According to Jiang Sheng, this guy who spends all his money on in-game purchases possesses immense talent, but is hampered by poverty, unable to utilize it, and has lived a life of frustration and unfulfilled ambitions for decades…

He is very likely to pledge allegiance to whichever of the Ten Crow nobles appreciates him, regardless of their position or race.

It all comes down to the idea that "a scholar will die for one who understands him."

Just as this thought crossed my mind, Jiang Sheng chimed in, "It's not impossible. Shi Wu's money is easy to swindle."

Shen Tang: "..."

Is it really that shameless?

Jiang Sheng didn't care why his friend had come to Shiwu to spend money; he was only worried that the other party would become a stumbling block for his side.

As long as our side doesn't leak out, Shi Wu's side would never guess they're involved, no matter how hard they try. But—

That friend is very familiar with Jiang Sheng.

It's hard to guarantee he won't discover some clues...

Then, following the clues, they tracked them down.

Jiang Sheng voiced his concerns, and his lord and the sick man's expressions changed. Gu Chi was about to suggest that Jiang Sheng be sidelined and that they avoid taking action if possible, but Shen Tang optimistically said, "That's fine."

The idea that the big spender joined the Ten Black Nobles is just speculation; perhaps he just came here to mine.

Even assuming they actually joined the Ten Crows faction, what are the chances of them being assigned to conduct a precise investigation into the tribe's massacre? And even if Shen Tang was indeed incredibly unlucky and a whale (a player who spends a lot of money on in-game purchases) caught him red-handed, how long into the future would that be? In this era without instant communication and satellite surveillance, how could they possibly catch a random, wandering group in the vast wilderness?

As for waiting for someone to run into a trap... as long as you don't play by the rules and your movement is unpredictable enough, no one can catch you.

"...If we unfortunately encounter him, we should kill him. I don't believe that Shiwu trusts him so much that he would let him burn the national treasury."

As Shen Tang said this, a bitter feeling welled up inside her. There are so many rich people in the world, why can't there be one more like her?

Gu Chi said, "Even so, we still need to be careful."

Shen Tang: "That's natural."

He returned the three pieces of gold to the lucky man, offered kind words of comfort to the wounded, and fed them pot after pot of fresh chicken soup. Seeing the grateful expressions on the faces of the wounded, Shen Tang returned home satisfied. At the entrance of the wounded soldiers' camp, he made sure to remind the attending physician, loud enough for the wounded to hear, to take good care of them, emphasizing that food and medicine would be plentiful, and that his only wish was for them to live.

Of course, there are still some details to consider.

So they didn't make a big fuss about it.

She pulled the attending physician aside and gave him instructions.

Nearly half of the soldiers brought out this time were women. Before joining Chen Tang, they all came from impoverished and hungry backgrounds, and had rarely eaten a full meal in their memories. Every single one of them was malnourished. Only after joining the camp did they receive a sufficient food supply, and only after they were well-fed were they subjected to high-intensity, unified training. More or less, they all carried some hidden ailments, such as irregular menstruation in the women.

Although this is a minor ailment in the face of life and death, Chen Tang's wish is to lead them to a path of survival on the battlefield, as the future is still long. Therefore, this ailment should be taken seriously, and one should not recklessly abuse one's body.

The attending physician listened and nodded.

"I have noted down all of my lord's instructions."

Even if Shen Tang hadn't specifically mentioned it, Bai Su would have cared—within the limits of military spending, allocate a portion of the budget for the soldiers' physical and mental well-being. The percentage might be small, and the effectiveness uncertain, but the intention still needed to be made clear.

Shen Tang was relieved and went back.

As they left, the soldiers in the wounded soldiers' camp finally breathed a sigh of relief, their tense and serious expressions fading, replaced by expressions of reminiscence, admiration, or emotion... They never dreamed that their lord would personally visit the wounded soldiers' camp, which was filled with blood and filth.

In truth, the fact that their lord didn't consider them a burden and even ordered a group of physicians to take care of them, providing them with food and medicine, already filled them with gratitude. You must understand that on the battlefield, food and medicine are more precious than gold, and are reserved for the elite of the elite.

As for the wounded?

The wound was treated casually, some medicine was applied, and then it was up to fate. If he was lucky enough to survive, that would be great; if not, it would be treated on the spot, saving us a mouth to feed.

Therefore, casualties on the main battlefield are often less than those after the war.

But their lords were different.

Before long, you could even hear people sobbing softly, but no one would laugh at them.

Actually, they also really wanted to cry.

"Damn it, it's worth risking my life for!"

One of the wounded soldiers lay down and punched the straw mat.

He was bought by Qi Shan from a slave trader after he came down from the mountain, and he was also one of the earliest followers of Shen Tang. For him, living was just about living, and fighting was just about getting a full meal; he had no goals or ideals.

In this world, you just live one day at a time.

But the situation he had just experienced left his chest feeling inexplicably swollen and sore, filled with some indescribable, peculiar emotion. Under this emotion, he even had an impulse—if Shen Jun were in danger right now, he would definitely shield him with his body without hesitation.

People began to quietly echo their agreement.

One after another, these thoughts reached Gu Chi's ears.

He couldn't help but admire his lord's skill in winning people's hearts and minds, truly having these soldiers under his control.

The method is simple to explain—

But very few people actually do it.

As a lord, who would be willing to lower themselves so much and sincerely care for the people at the bottom of society?

Therefore, there is only one Shen Tang.

"I'm a little hungry. Xian Deng and Wang Chao, would you like to stay for a meal?" Shen Tang felt her appetite was growing bigger and bigger, and she could eat several rice buckets at each meal. A full rice bucket would be enough for an average family of three to eat three meals.

But that's far from enough for Shen Tang.

At first I was a little shy—

I'm such a glutton!

But seeing that Xianyu Jian, Xu Quan, and even Bai Su all had good appetites, eating at least two buckets per meal, she felt reassured.

My appetite is only slightly better than theirs, still within the normal range...

"I apologize for disturbing you, my lord."

"It's disrespectful."

They had only eaten half of the meal when a soldier came to report the news.

Shen Tang licked the millet grains off the corner of her mouth and asked.

"What news?"

The soldier reported, "We have discovered people hiding in the valley ahead."

Shen Tang's heart skipped a beat.

valley?

Could it be that their whereabouts have been exposed?

Is there an ambush ahead?

Shen Tang's eyes darkened, and she asked, "How many people?"

Soldier: "The captain has ordered scouts to investigate; there are about a thousand men. The captain suspects that this group is probably not elite."

Why make this judgment?

According to information obtained by the reconnaissance falcon, this group was living in dire straits. Apart from the able-bodied and robust young men, the rest of the elderly, women, and children were all emaciated, covered in dust, and unlikely to amount to anything.

If they weren't all dressed as members of the Ten Crows tribe, one might mistake them for some mountain stronghold we'd previously raided.

(`)

Everyone says the baby is growing, so I'm relieved.

(End of this chapter)