Chapter 116 A sudden transformation
Shen Yuexi stood at the camp's gate, looking towards the west with reluctance. In the distance, the fire dragon wriggled and gradually disappeared into the darkness.
The dense sound of horse hooves had long since disappeared, leaving only the cool night breeze caressing her hot cheeks.
Shen Yuexi reached out and touched her lips, which still had the scent of Xiao Zhuo.
I feel empty inside.
She wasn't worried when Xiao Zhuo led nine thousand cavalrymen to aid the King of Xiliang. He had already proven his ability, and she was confident he would be invincible and return triumphant. Her disappointment stemmed more from the loss of her beloved.
This powerful man has been protecting her.
As long as he was by her side, she felt she could face any danger. This man gave her a strong sense of security, allowing her not to fear the difficulties and obstacles in this world.
In the ancient world, women were a fundamentally disadvantaged group. They were practically barred from any important professions, unable to participate in imperial examinations, and the door to political life was completely closed. Many women's lifelong goal was to marry a man of their dreams. Although she possessed a universal manufacturing machine, she, like other ordinary women, longed for a man's protection.
In terms of emotional needs, she is no different from other women.
Fortunately, she met Xiao Zhuo, an extraordinary man. Unfortunately, this extraordinary man had his own goals.
Now, in order to establish his own position, he led his troops away.
When Xiao Zhuo got on the horse, she was reluctant to let him go and thought about calling him to stop.
Let's not save the King of Xiliang, and forget about Emperor Yongde. Let's find a quiet and elegant village with flowers blooming everywhere and live our little lives happily.
Unfortunately, she could only say this in her heart. She knew Xiao Zhuo would not listen.
She is just an ordinary person who buries herself in the laboratory all day long, satisfied with inventing advanced equipment, happy to eat her favorite food, and obsessed with the simple life of counting her salary.
When she first came here and was still lying on the ground, she was thinking about finding a place with beautiful mountains and rivers and living a retirement life in advance with the help of the universal manufacturing machine.
Unfortunately, none of that was what Xiao Zhuo wanted. He could tolerate the worst living conditions, rolling in mud and water, sleeping on straw, eating food without any seasoning, and interacting with rough villagers, and he didn't care.
He tolerated all of the above just to regain his lost dignity and status one day.
This is his Achilles' heel. He won't allow anyone to stand between him and his goal.
"Madam Pei, Madam Pei!"
Yang Cong's panting voice, accompanied by the sound of horse hooves, came from the night in the south.
She reined in her horse as she approached Shen Yuexi, jumped off swiftly, and said with a pout, "Prince Mei has arrived safely in Xiaogang Village and has been accommodated next door to ours. The village head has already instructed that no one is allowed to disturb him."
"Isn't this great?" Shen Yuexi nodded and looked at Yang Cong, "Why do you look so unhappy?"
"It's the villagers," Yang Cong said, scratching his head. "They all refused to cook for the prisoners."
"You didn't tell them what I said?"
"I've relayed this. I've been saying things like 'treat the prisoners well' and 'treat them leniently' until my lips are worn out. But everyone says they won't feed those vicious wolves of the Western Rong." Yang Cong spread his hands. "Everyone is preparing meals for our soldiers. As for the prisoners, they all say they'd better starve them to death."
Shen Yuexi held her forehead in her hand and was speechless.
Her request was not high, just to let each captive drink a bowl of porridge to get through the night. It seemed that this was not going to work.
She had previously spent a great deal of time trying to convince Yang Cong, who hated the Xirong, but now it was the turn of the entire Xiaogang Village population to disagree.
Everyone's hatred for the Xirong was understandable. Xiaogang Village had been harassed by the Xirong for years, and deep hatred had long been buried between the two sides. This wasn't something that could be resolved overnight. She didn't want to give a speech in the village so late at night.
Besides, speeches may not be effective.
She lowered her head in thought.
These villagers are not conscious people. It is not feasible to talk too much about big principles to them. You have to take some unconventional ways.
"Come, let's go find General Qiu." Shen Yuexi took Yang Cong's hand and walked into the camp.
The sergeant guarding the camp gate took Yang Cong's horse and said to Shen Yuexi, "Madam, you want to see General Qiu. A sergeant has already gone to get him."
Before Shen Yuexi could even take a step, Qiu Liming approached, sword slung over his shoulder, followed by several soldiers. He had already changed into a suit of Xiliang armor, the armor rustling as he walked, reflecting the light from the campfire.
"Madam, what instructions do you have for me?" Qiu Liming walked closer, clasped his hands together and bowed.
"General, there's no need to be so polite," Shen Yuexi looked towards the camp, "Can we set off on time tomorrow morning?"
To save time, she had originally planned to set out tonight. However, setting up camp wasn't as easy as she'd imagined. The captives didn't need tents, but the 1,500 soldiers guarding them did need shelter. Just packing all the necessary supplies for the journey would take her an entire night.
Qiu Liming said: "I am currently handling this matter. If nothing unexpected happens, we can set off at sunrise tomorrow."
"I want to use what's left in the camp."
"Madam, there's no need to discuss this with me," Qiu Liming quickly shook his hand. "My duty is to protect you, Madam. How dare I interfere? Madam, please just make the arrangements."
"That's good," Shen Yuexi turned to Yang Cong, "Onion, can you please take the trouble to pass on a message to the villagers?"
Yang Cong said, "Madam Pei, what are you talking about? My life is yours. What's the point of passing on a message? But I'm worried that even if I say anything, it will be in vain. No one will be happy about it."
"Go tell everyone: Madam Pei said that if these Western Rong people all starve to death here, the five thousand corpses will rot and the plague will spread. If the wind blows the plague to Xiaogang Village, Xiaogang Village will be in danger."
"No way, plague... plague!" Yang Cong was terrified. "What kind of plague could it be?"
"The Black Death!" Shen Yuexi made up nonsense.
She found that sometimes reasoning alone didn't work, so she had to scare people.
Qiu Liming, who was standing next to him, gasped and whispered, "What kind of disease is this? How come I've never heard of it before?"
Yang Cong covered his eyes with his hands: "Just hearing the name is so scary."
"With so many people here, it would be troublesome if they starved to death," Shen Yuexi continued, "Just have everyone cook a meal for the prisoners. After they eat, they'll have the strength to leave tomorrow morning. Then everything left in this camp will belong to the villagers, and they can use it as they please."
Yang Cong glanced across the entire camp and replied, "Okay, I'll go right away."
Watching Yang Cong leave, Shen Yuexi felt somewhat uncertain. If the villagers of Xiaogang Village were determined not to make food for the prisoners, then they would have to walk faster. However, the prisoners would have no energy and would have to walk slowly without food.
What a headache.
When she first came to this world, she was an exiled prisoner. Now, she has unexpectedly become the leader of a 5,000-person escort.
If Xiao Zhuo were here... No, he would order the killing of all the captives and put an end to the trouble once and for all.
Since she has taken on this big trouble, she has to find a way to solve it.
She was thinking about what to do next when a sergeant came running over and said, "General, the Xirong captives want to see you, Madam."
"Why do you suddenly want to see Madam?" Qiu Liming looked at Shen Yuexi with some confusion.
Shen Yuexi didn't understand why the Xirong people suddenly wanted to see her, and cast a puzzled look at the soldier.
The soldier patted the crossbow on his back and looked at Shen Yuexi with admiration.
"Their leader said he wanted to meet the extraordinary woman who could create such a powerful weapon as the repeating crossbow."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com