Chapter 1108: Can You Generate Electricity? (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Shen Tang believes that every group will produce some oddballs.
Genes can mutate; there are all kinds of birds in a big forest.
However, He Shu, who came from a prestigious family, underwent a radical transformation.
His behavior cannot be explained by normal logic!
Qi Shan and He Shu were acquainted, perhaps because they shared similar interests and were somewhat in sync. Did Qi Shan know He Shu's motives?
"Who but He Buzuo could know what he was thinking?" Qi Shan and He Shu were indeed good friends, practically inseparable before their positions clashed. But how did He Shu treat him? This shows that even when literary figures are on good terms with others, they are still calculating and manipulative; if you're less skilled, you can be played to death.
Unable to get an answer from Qi Shan, Shen Tang could only meet with He Shu in person: "Hopefully, he's not some Thanos-like figure."
Yunda was already giving her enough headaches.
Wei Lou and his nephew Wei Cheng are also handsome and energetic.
It truly proves the saying: it's not the mental illness that's scary, it's the combination of mental illness and inhuman strength. The combined power is like a royal flush: "The medication can't be stopped!"
Shen Tang muttered to himself, dawdling along.
In the end, Qi Shan couldn't stand it anymore and pushed her.
Shen Tang was reluctant to see He Shu.
As a prisoner of war, He Shu should have been under heavy guard, but due to a shortage of manpower on their side, Qi Shan assigned the task to He Xin, finding a tent for the two brothers to squat in. Before meeting He Shu, Shen Tang had complained that he was too confident. Why would a scholar like He Xin obediently become a prisoner? If he could escape, he would definitely escape. Why would he stop just because the jailer was his brother? Isn't that ridiculous?
Then, Shen Tang realized that she was the naive one.
Despite the simple furnishings of the tent, the young scholar felt a sense of tranquility within, engrossed in a fragment of a book of incantations, oblivious to the fact that his tea had long since gone cold and he hadn't even noticed when someone had arrived. It wasn't until Qi Shan deliberately coughed, making a noise, that the young scholar looked up. The young man was elegantly dressed, with fair skin, a tall and slender figure, and an outstanding air about him.
What's even more remarkable is his eyes.
Clear and gentle, a pool of spring water.
His eyes were clear and bright, revealing a naive charm reminiscent of a college student, unlike the numbness and gloom of a hard-working person battered by society, or the cunning and clingy nature of a scheming strategist. Shen Tang met his gaze, and in that instant, she instinctively looked at Qi Shan, her eyes questioning: "Yuan Liang, are you sure you haven't arrested the wrong person?"
These eyes are too different from the information He Shu has gathered.
Qi Shan said, "He is He Xin."
Shen Tang looked around the tent: "Where is He Shu?"
They weren't in the tent, could they have escaped from prison?
"This humble commoner is He Xin, courtesy name Haogu, and greets Lord Shen." Upon hearing their conversation and seeing Shen Tang's undisguised female attire, He Xin immediately guessed her identity and bowed respectfully. "Lord Shen, are you here to see my elder brother?"
Shen Tang nodded in return: "Mm."
He Xin said, "This humble subject will go and call him out."
Shen Tang was suspicious.
The tent wasn't large, with no partitions; the interior was completely visible at a glance, offering no hiding place. However, Shen Tang quickly understood He Xin's meaning. She had witnessed He Xin close his eyes and then open them again, his entire aura undergoing a dramatic transformation. The He Xin of moments before was like a gentle breeze; now, he was like a dark cloud gathering before a storm. The instant he opened his eyes, even the air itself felt heavy and oppressive.
She tentatively asked, "He Buzuo?"
He Shu did not respond to Shen Tang, but instead lowered his head and whispered something.
"Good old, don't be rude, release me as your elder brother."
After he finished speaking, He Shucai raised his hand in greeting.
Shen Tang found the scene inexplicably strange, and while returning the greeting, she also asked with her doubts, "Are you all one person?"
He Shudao said, "This is a long story."
The unspoken message was that he didn't want to say it.
Their situation was too unusual; apart from their family and themselves, outsiders either found it strange or morbidly curious, which displeased He Shu. He Shu ignored Shen Tang's reaction and sat down on his own: "The tent is simple; please make yourself at home, Lord Shen."
He poured out the cooled tea.
He opened the iron plate at the bottom of the stove and fanned the air inside with a small fan. As fresh air rushed in, the dimmed charcoal fire glowed orange again, the flames flickering and licking the bottom of the tea stove: "I, He, am but a prisoner, whether I live or die is of no concern to me, why does Lord Shen need to come in person? Or is it that Lord Shen has a fondness for talent and intends to recruit me?"
Qi Shan's face darkened.
He warned, "He won't do it!"
"Qi Yuanliang, you're quite lucky."
He Shu's gaze fell on Qi Shan's no longer empty right sleeve, then moved to his face, his tone tinged with resentment. At first, he genuinely hadn't expected the girl to be Qi Shan in disguise! It wasn't that he doubted Qi Shan's abilities, but rather that He Shu had overestimated Qi Yuanliang's morbidity. Disguising himself as a girl was one thing, but this guy had even imitated He Xin! If it weren't for his good fortune, He Shu would have smashed his head in for that alone! Upon learning the truth, He Shu deeply regretted not killing this shameless bastard with the arrow from the altar!
Qi Shan said proudly, "I'm just naturally lucky."
He could kill seven lords and escape unscathed, and then encounter the chosen one on the eighth. Wasn't that better than He Shu, who had a bellyful of crazy ideas but nowhere to put them to use? He Shu was definitely among the most powerful in the way of the literati, but so what? Was his lord as promising as his own? Was his lord as in sync with his own lord? Even a pearl, if placed in the wrong place, is not as good as a fish eye.
And Qi Yuanliang was no fool either.
He Shu was about to say something, but no sound came out.
Shen Tang assumed that Qi Shan had silenced him, but Qi Shan preemptively explained, "This has nothing to do with Shan."
The judgment of the power of words by literary scholars also has a priority.
Putting aside He Shu's own strength, this body also contains He Xin. Even if Qi Shan didn't want to admit it, he had to acknowledge that he couldn't control both of them alone. He Shu couldn't say he couldn't because he suffered a backlash on the battlefield and couldn't compete with He Xin for control. He Shu tried twice but had to give in; only then did the restraint on his throat loosen, and his complexion visibly worsened.
Shen Tang responded: "A wise minister chooses his lord to serve, a minister chooses his lord, and a lord also chooses his minister. I am not someone who is indiscriminate in my choices."
He Shu looked at Qi Shan and felt that Shen Tang's words were not convincing.
She was truly hungry to accept Qi Yuanliang's offer.
Shen Tang frowned: "Yuan Liang is very good. In my eyes, he is my Zhang Liang, my Duke of Zhou, my Duke Ge, and deserves all praise. How many geniuses are there in the world? If talent is one in ten thousand, there are ten thousand geniuses among ten million people. The relationship between ruler and subject is about 'harmony'. If his ambitions are contrary to mine, even if he is the most outstanding among ten thousand geniuses, what does it have to do with me? I know that you and He Haogu have a symbiotic relationship, sharing life and death. You are a prisoner and he is a meritorious official! As the ruler of a country, I certainly cannot kill a meritorious official because of a prisoner who must die, but that does not mean I must recruit him. The relationship between ruler and subject is never one-sided."
The choices available to Shen Tang were actually quite limited.
This is also the fundamental reason why she felt that He Shu's problem was difficult to handle.
He Xin absolutely cannot be killed, but He Shu is optional.
She did indeed have a recruitment intention when she came to see He Shu—as the territory expanded, Shen Tang needed more and more people—Yun Da, that old man, left behind a twelve-year time bomb, leaving her with no extra time to cultivate talent and wait for them to mature. If it weren't for Yun Da, Shen Tang initially planned to take fifty or even a hundred years to unify this continent.
Haste makes waste!
It's only a hundred years; she can wait that long.
Didn't that old man Wei Lou live to be nearly two hundred years old in good health?
Look at this uncle and nephew, they could easily live another hundred years.
As a working-class ruler working 996 hours a day, Shen Tang wouldn't dare say she could live for three hundred years, but living for one hundred and fifty years shouldn't be a problem. One hundred and fifty years, with a hundred years of stable unification of the continent and the last twenty years spent carefully cultivating a successor, if things go well during these hundred years, she could even complete social reforms during her reign.
That won't work right now.
She doesn't have enough time.
Shen Tang admitted that he was short of people, but not so short that he was not picky.
She doesn't like things that have to be forced.
He Shu was speechless after being choked by Shen Tang's words, seemingly not expecting Shen Tang to be so blatant in protecting Qi Shan. His eyes flickered slightly, but Shen Tang spoke before he could, saying, "I have always known about Yuan Liang's scholarly way, and that is not enough to shake my mind."
He Shu: "..."
The tea stove beeped, and Shen Tang poured herself a cup of tea, showing no sign of formality: "I have something to ask you."
She took the initiative to change the subject, and He Shu went along with it.
"Please speak, Mr. Shen."
Why did the head of the He family massacre so many powerful clans?
The answer to this question is quite important.
Didn't He Shu realize that this move would provoke too much hatred?
Even if Shen Tang spares the brothers' lives because of He Xin, will the remnants of the various tribes who suffered in this battle not hold a grudge? They will not only hate Wu Xian for sending troops, but also be hostile to He Shu for setting up this scheme. Where does He Shu get the confidence that he can definitely escape unscathed?
He Shudao said, "Casualties are common in battles between two armies."
Aside from the oddball Shen Tang, massacres were standard practice for warlords in the past, a prime example being Zheng Qiao's case. Massacres weren't just about killing people; they were also a way to reward soldiers. The goal was never the massacre itself, but rather the plundering of the people's wealth and the rampant accumulation of riches within the city. This war was no different, except that the victims had shifted from ordinary civilians to these powerful clans.
Either way, a number of people are going to die.
The wealth gained from killing 10,000 is the same as the wealth gained from killing 100.
Is it abnormal for him to save energy by killing a hundred people?
Shen Tang said, "You're not telling the truth."
Her straightforward answer caught He Shu off guard. He paused, his hand holding the teacup still. He glanced at Qi Shan and clicked his tongue in amazement, saying, "Don't people always say 'one is influenced by one's company'? How could Shen Jun, who has known you, Qi Yuanliang, for so many years, be so rash?"
Shen Tang shielded Qi Shan from this question.
"Intrigue and backstabbing, these are shortcuts for those who lack ability. I don't need them." Shen Tang said casually, but her eyes revealed a confidence and arrogance that made He Shu's heart tremble. And she certainly had the right to say that. "Being straightforward saves time. With so many things waiting for me to handle every day, where would I find the time to speculate on the hidden meanings in other people's words?"
These words were also a warning to He Shu, telling him to keep his words simple. If she misunderstood and He Shu suffered as a result, she wouldn't be to blame.
He Shu did not show any anger on his face from being repeatedly rebuked.
Instead, a genuine smile appeared on his lips: "The truth? If I, He, said I killed because I hated him, would you, Shen Jun, believe me?"
Without hesitation, Shen Tang replied, "I believe you."
He Shu: "..."
An eerie atmosphere settled in the tent.
He Shu's tense back relaxed, a sign that he was deliberately letting down his guard: "To be honest, I loathe it. The etiquette, doctrines, and ethics that aristocratic families uphold and regard as the highest standard—if these things are right, then what are my situation and that of my younger brother? They cannot tolerate heresy! I am the biggest heretic."
The existence of He Shu is not permitted.
The two brothers initially only had one "He Shu".
"He was precocious, able to remember things at just one year old. Does Mr. Shen know the pain he endured?" He Shu recounted his journey, seemingly unrelated to the answer, yet it was the initial motivation that drove him to this point. "My father named this body 'Shu,' unaware that there was another son beside him, nameless, unseen, untouched, bearing everything alone from his first steps to his first words. In his most fearful moments, this son couldn't even receive a hug or a word of comfort..."
Until he acquired a "body".
The body that embodies literary talent.
The younger brother, who was the main body, was frail, while he was healthy.
However, their biological father, for the sake of so-called interests, chose the healthy son among his brothers to inherit the name "He Shu," claiming it was for the sake of the family, that the family needed a healthy heir.
It was clearly for the sake of profit that the real "He Shu" was sacrificed.
As he grew older, he discovered that hypocrites weren't just his father! This group of people, exemplified by his father, loved to use etiquette and dogma to build a high platform of dignity. On this platform, they received worship and enjoyed the bounty of the world; beneath it, mountains of corpses lay.
He Shu never considered himself part of the group on the high platform.
Perhaps it's a case of those involved being blinded by their own perspective while bystanders see things more clearly, but He Shu gradually realized that the source of the chaos wasn't just the warlords; besides the martial arts that broke the law, there were also the Confucian scholars who disrupted the legal system. Even though the latter always took saving the common people as his mission and upholding justice as his lifelong ambition, what was the result? The cumbersome rituals couldn't teach people to be good, and the strict laws couldn't bring peace to the world. He seemed to be living in a huge deception. He Shu realized early on that something was wrong with his state, but he couldn't control the budding of these dangerous thoughts.
Did Shen Jun personally distribute the porridge?
Shen Tang said, "Yes."
He Shu sneered: "How many of the people queuing up for porridge know that they shouldn't be standing here waiting for handouts? They should have fields to cultivate, enough to eat and wear year-round, and even extra food and clothing in good years? The person who caused them to lose all of this is actually the one who took everything away and then hypocritically offered them a bowl of porridge? They don't know! They might even sing praises to this person, extolling their righteousness. Tell me, how can such a person who fools people and tries to glorify themselves as a righteous scoundrel not be killed?"
Shen Tang fell silent because of He Shumei's beautiful mental state.
He Shu suppressed his manic expression, his smile growing even colder.
"...Moreover, wouldn't killing them be exactly what Lord Shen wanted? Because of old scores, Lord Shen had to treat Lord Gu's former subordinates well, which also preserved the major clans led by Shang Nan. Even if their clan lands were seized and their hidden tenants were taken away in the early days of the founding of the country, were they really seriously injured?"
“Shen Jun, you should be happy.”
|ω`)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
