012
"girl……"
Seeing Yu Baizhou leave with an unhappy expression, Qi Man knew that the two had not reached an agreement. After entering the room, she saw Song Ling sitting alone at the table, seemingly deep in thought.
The little girl next to her had been woken up by the noise at some point, and tilted her head toward Song Ling, wanting a hug, but Song Ling did not give her any response.
To some extent, General Yu was right. She was a cold-blooded and ruthless person to the core, capable of scheming and resorting to any means to achieve her goals. Emotions and interests were merely tools for her to reach her objectives.
Selfish and cold-blooded people are destined to be incompatible with honest and passionate people, like water meeting fire.
Song Ling gently placed a small toy from the table into the little girl's arms, but did not pick her up as she wished.
Throughout the entire process, she never developed much affection for anyone, neither the brother and sister nor her lord.
Isn't this how a strategist should be? She has read countless books, and in the past fifteen years, she has read through the millions of books in Huailai Pavilion countless times. Emotions and personal feelings are the greatest taboos for a strategist, which is what her master taught her when she was a child.
But now Song Ling had a doubt about this, because her lord was obviously very different from the previous lords whom her ancestors had served.
Loyalty, courage, integrity... It's hard to imagine that these most basic and pure qualities could come together in such a young man at such a time.
He climbed to the top step by step through force, perhaps by luck or by encountering many benefactors. As a result, he can no longer tolerate the slightest filth and ruthlessness, just like a child who has never left his own courtyard.
Was he immature? She thought perhaps not, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to lead an army of 100,000 men and contend with the imperial court for several years at such a young age, nor would he have been able to navigate the complexities of dealing with several prefects with such ease and evasiveness...
It seems that the general was only extremely dissatisfied with her scheming against the brother and sister, but why was that?
Song Ling frowned and kept thinking, habitually starting to deduce and calculate from the beginning, and in the end she could only conclude that the source must have come from the general.
"Waaaaah..." The child's babbling brought Song Ling back to reality.
Schemes... What kind of experience could make a child so resistant to them?
***
"General! Look what we brought back!" Wei Yan strode excitedly toward Yu Bai. "Look!"
Wei Yan took out a thick stack of silver notes from his pocket and waved them in front of him, "We've made a lot of money today!"
"Where did the money come from?" Yu Baizhou asked, puzzled.
Although yesterday's battle was initiated by the Southern Barbarians, the Southwest Army's promise to the governors of the various prefectures was to retrieve the grain that had been "robbed" on the day of the previous banquet. Therefore, they had to allocate a portion of it to the governors' offices of the three prefectures today.
"It's all thanks to Miss Song," Wei Yan said, now completely admiring Song Ling. "I was still worried about the grain, but who knew that Miss Song had already arranged everything."
"What do you mean?" Yu Baizhou asked hesitantly, "You sold the grain?"
"Yes and no," Wei Yan smiled mysteriously and then explained, "Yesterday, while we were still fighting, the young lady had already sent people to spread the news in various counties of the three prefectures, saying that the governors of the three prefectures were diligent in their duties and served the people, personally participating in planning and helping our southwestern army to win the victory, and also seizing back a lot of grain."
"Now that we are in a year of famine, grain prices in various states have skyrocketed in the past few months. It is a time when grain and oil are more expensive than gold. The commotion is getting more and more heated, and the people have come to believe it."
"Although the governors of these three prefectures gained fame and grain, they also encountered a lot of trouble. Along the way, there were always some troublemakers or people who had nowhere else to turn. We were tasked with delivering this grain to various noble families, and thus we received a considerable reward."
"This isn't over yet," Wei Yan shouted, urging the people behind him to bring over the large boxes. When they opened them, they were filled with gleaming silver dollars!
“We used a feint earlier, making them think that the stolen grain from the banquet had been transported out of the city, but in fact it was distributed across the three prefectures and hidden in various places.” Wei Yan said somewhat embarrassedly, “At that time, you were already seriously injured and unconscious, so we were unable to inform you in time.”
“Miss Song sent people to distribute the grain at low prices to vendors and common people in various cities. Little by little, it has accumulated to this day. Only now do I understand Miss Song’s intention in asking for more than a thousand elite troops a month ago.” Wei Yan stroked his chin, his eyes full of admiration.
He prided himself on his thorough reading, but even he couldn't match Miss Song's intellect. She was so meticulous, taking into account so many factors—truly something few could do.
Yu Baizhou thought the same thing. He originally thought that the girl had kept enough from him, but it turned out that he was just too "narrow-minded".
From beginning to end, everyone—himself, Military Advisor Wei, and the infiltrator in the Southern Barbarians—thought they all believed they knew the whole story, in reality they only knew the tip of the iceberg. Only she knew the whole picture, and even, to some extent, controlled the progress of the scheme.
What an intelligent girl, what a perfect strategist... even more so than the previous strategist of the Southwest Army, who was full of knowledge and wisdom...
Yu Baizhou pursed his lips slightly. If things continued like this, would this Miss Song also end up on that path one day?
***
"Where is the strategist?"
Yu Baizhou asked the guard at the camp gate, because he had been frequently distracted during the training today, constantly wondering if his words last night were too inappropriate. After much hesitation, he decided to go to Song Ling's tent, only to find that the tent was already empty.
The soldier who was asked stood up straight and said, "At 9:00 a.m. today, the strategist left the camp by carriage, saying that he was going to the county to buy some medicinal herbs."
"Did they bring children with them?"
The soldier was puzzled for a moment, "It seems so, she was being held in the arms of the man next to the strategist."
Most of the soldiers in the camp are still unaware that their general has suddenly had a child, so this soldier was also wondering this morning how there could suddenly be an extra child in the camp.
Yu Baizhou looked into the distance, and for some reason felt an urge to chase after them. "Which prefecture did they go to? When will they return?"
The soldier shook his head. "No."
Yu Baizhou's heart sank to the bottom, and his eyes dimmed for a moment. Had he really left? Perhaps he had angered him with his words and driven him away.
General Yu, who was at a loss, probably forgot that Song Ling had gone to the prefecture more than once in the past month without telling the guards, so the guards did not find anything wrong with it.
What disappointed him was that the girl always asked him a few questions and informed him in advance before going out, but now she suddenly left without saying goodbye... He wondered if she would really never come back.
Many people say that you only cherish something when you lose it. General Yu never understood this principle. She was just a girl, just a strategist. He didn't need her. With that thought, he strode to the training ground with a cold face.
That afternoon, however, the entire training ground was filled with cries of pain and groans.
"Next!"
Yu Baizhou raised his arm to wipe away the sweat, picked up the long stick, and continued calling out numbers with a cold face.
Even in front of so many subordinates, Shi Qing, who was in the center of the training ground, was so exhausted that he didn't care about his image as a deputy general and lay motionless on the ground. His buttocks were still aching when his subordinates helped him up.
Lieutenant Li glanced left and right, then quickly kicked Lieutenant Wang, who was trying to sneak away, forward.
"Holy crap—"
As Vice General Wang scrambled to his feet, ready to retort, he looked up and saw his general's chillingly dark face.
"General... my wounds from fighting the Southern Barbarians last time haven't healed yet... look at me..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yu Baizhou coldly interrupted him, asking succinctly, "A long staff or a long spear?"
"I……"
"Or do you want to fight hand-to-hand?"
"No, no, no! The stick is fine," Deputy General Wang scrambled to his feet and grabbed the stick, as if afraid Yu Baizhou might change his mind at any moment. "The stick is good..."
The stick is indeed quite good; it doesn't kill with every strike, but it always lands a solid blow.
Before long, shouts and screams echoed across the training ground, accompanied by a few serious and calm reprimands.
"Didn't I teach you to plan before you act?" A slap on the backside.
"Isn't this telling you to reflect on yourself and not rush into making decisions?" It's like a blow to the back.
"Have you been practicing some unorthodox techniques again?" Before the blow could land, Vice General Wang had already closed his eyes in fear.
Yu Baizhou was so angry that he threw the stick aside, saying, "You haven't improved at all."
Many soldiers below watched the spectacle and even laughed out loud. Yu Baizhou sneered, "Since you can laugh, you must be confident that you've mastered the skills. Come up and spar with me, let's see if you can use even half of the moves of your lieutenants!"
Those people immediately dared not make another move, but Yu Baizhou narrowed his eagle eyes and remembered who it was. "You all have a chance, and none of you can escape."
Then, the muffled groans of clubs echoed across the training ground once again. Their general truly lived up to his reputation for superhuman strength! It was as if his strength was inexhaustible. He could take on dozens or even hundreds of people single-handedly, torturing them to the point of unbearable suffering, and truly becoming a nightmare for these soldiers.
"Commander, has the general taken the wrong medicine today?" Lieutenant General Li, who had successfully escaped a disaster, quietly approached Wei Yan in the distance and asked.
"I don't know either," Wei Yan shook his head. Today was no different from any other day. The only difference was the general. He had become like this not long after returning from the strategist's place.
Wait a minute, didn't the strategist go to buy medicinal herbs today? Where did the general find this strategist?
Having arrived in Yunzhou early, Song Ling was unaware that many people in the military camp were talking about her. At this moment, the group had arrived at an important county in Yunzhou, which was also the location of the Yunzhou Prefectural Governor's Office.
"Cough cough cough..." Song Ling took off the handkerchief and looked at the bloodstains in the middle of it. She immediately clenched the handkerchief into her fist as if nothing had happened.
Anyone with eyes could see that she was pale at this moment, but it was unclear whether it was due to the long and bumpy journey or the overwhelming amount of work.
"Have you found out if those medicinal herbs are available?"
Wu Sheng, who rushed back, shook his head. "No, perhaps they were taken away. In this world, food and medicine are rare commodities."
A strange and unnoticed sense of loss flashed across Song Ling's eyes, but her tone remained gentle and cool, "It's alright, there will always be a chance."
The air around them seemed to freeze for a moment, but then a figure suddenly appeared in the distance.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
