Chapter 1486: Pushing the Limits (Part 1) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
Rather than saying that Ji Moqiu's advice was directed at Wu You, it would be more accurate to say that it was addressed to the true form of Shen Tang. Wu You resolutely rejected it in front of him, while the true form of Shen Tang pondered the key point.
She would never admit to having a mental illness, but as a monarch, she did need to pay attention to her mental state to avoid becoming senile without realizing it. At the victory banquet, she asked softly, "Wangchao, have you experienced any discomfort when using [Three Minds, Two Hearts]?"
Gu Chi was quite surprised to hear this heartfelt message.
What's so surprising?
Surprisingly, this ruler, who treated his officials like beasts of burden, actually had a change of heart and took the initiative to care about the problem of his officials working excessive overtime.
Gu Chi carefully inquired, "Does the Lord want to raise salaries?"
Except during wartime, the Kang royal court enjoys ample holidays, high salaries, and generous benefits. Crucially, payments are never delayed; they are always made on time each month. This is something many royal courts fail to do; it's common for officials' salaries to be delayed by three to five months, or even a year and a half, driving many officials who rely on their salaries for a living down the path of corruption. Of course, corruption cannot be eradicated simply by ensuring timely salary payments or high salaries and benefits; effective oversight and deterrence are paramount.
Gu Chi's current salary is already quite high.
He went to war with the army, and the rewards for his military achievements were several times his salary.
Although he wasn't short of money, he wouldn't complain about having too much salary. After all, he was practically a married man with a career. If he could be the breadwinner, Gu Chi didn't want to burden Bai Su with the financial pressure. Saving more money would make retirement easier.
_(:з」∠)_
Shen Tang thought about his private treasury and the Kang Kingdom's national treasury, and said guiltily, "We're poor. We'll talk about raising salaries when the national treasury is more prosperous."
Gu Chi lost interest as soon as he heard there was no chance.
However, answering every question from one's lord is a basic quality of a subject: "Aside from being a little mentally tired, I feel fine. An ordinary person can only have one memory at a time, but when one uses [Three Minds and Two Hearts], two more will appear, which naturally makes it difficult for the brain to process."
Even the most powerful animals will get tired if they are overworked.
"Could it lead to schizophrenia? Or a drastic change in personality?"
"Speak plainly, my lord."
Gu Chi stated that there were no secrets between them, the ruler and his subject. Over the years, he had come to understand almost all of his lord's jargon. Even if she were to mutter a few internet memes now, he could pick up on them.
"The High Priest just advised me to use the Spirit Incarnation less, worried that I would develop a mental illness if I used it too much, but I feel fine."
Gu Chi: "..."
He slowly asked Shen Tang a question: "Who gave the Lord the wrong impression that the spirit of a scholar could be healthy?"
Shen Tang: "..."
At this moment, Gu Chi, who was sitting at the lower end of the table, raised his eyes and glanced at the crowd clinking glasses and whispered, "Extremely passionate, extremely mad, extremely crazy."
The power of words, "three minds, two intentions," is nothing short of a form of mental schizophrenia.
However, this kind of division is something an individual can control.
Leaving aside ordinary literary figures, which of those who sought to understand their own hearts and attain the Way of the Literary Path didn't go to extremes? Only through extreme obsession, stubbornness, persistence, and unwavering perseverance could one achieve enlightenment. In this world, where is the line between the mad and the sane?
One is selfish, the other is altruistic—if most people think you're crazy, then you're crazy; if they think you're normal, then you're normal. Ultimately, it's all about the power of public opinion to destroy you.
Gu Chi smiled and took a sip of his drink.
“My colleagues are all like kites. They haven’t gone off track to extremes yet, barely managing to put on human skin and act like human beings, only because there’s still a string holding onto their remaining rationality.” Seeking the Way, isn’t it also a process of seeking someone to entrust that string to?
Some people get what they want, while others entrust their wishes to the wrong person.
"Heaven is the charcoal, Earth is the furnace, and all living beings are tormented." Because Chen Tang had lifted Gu Chi's restrictions and allowed him to have a few drinks, he happily drank more than usual, until his cheeks were flushed and he was slightly tipsy. He rested his chin on his hand and smiled charmingly, "It's good to be confused sometimes, why spoil the fun?"
You are not a fish, how can you know the joy of fish?
You are not a madman, how can you know the joy of a madman?
There are mental illnesses, and as long as there are many crazy people in the world, it's not certain who is normal and who is not.
Shen Tang: "...So?"
Gu Chi smiled casually: "So what if he's crazy? I've never heard of any scholar dying from overwork. There are so many government affairs to attend to, and the national treasury is so empty. If we rashly expand the recruitment of the royal court, what if we can't control it and end up not being able to pay salaries, plus creating redundant staff? How troublesome would that be?"
The kite string will not get out of control if it is held in the Lord's hand.
Use it to the extreme as long as it doesn't kill you.
Shen Tang: "..."
In other words, apart from her, everyone actually knew that they were mentally unhealthy. However, since the kite string was in the hands of a reliable person, they were not afraid of losing control of their minds and simply put their mental problems out of their minds, without worrying about them at all.
Shen Tang's gaze suddenly turned melancholy.
"Oh, where's my kite string?"
Gu Chi leaned slightly towards Chu Yao, a sly smile on his face, and said, "Has Your Majesty ever seen Lord Chu walking his dog during his days off?"
Shen Tang: "...???"
She paused for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening.
She grabbed an orange and shoved it straight at Gu Chi's forehead.
Gu Chi stretched out both hands to receive it, peeled off two pieces and put them in his mouth while saying in a high-pitched voice, "Thank you for the reward, my lord."
Shen Tang laughed at his shamelessness—Chu Yao's dog was old and extremely intelligent; it could even carry its own leash and walk itself. If Shen Tang truly had a kite string, she would hold it herself. How could she not be furious after Gu Chi said that?
The others were quite drunk, and either didn't notice the commotion or noticed it but didn't take it seriously—as long as it wasn't a matter of drawing a sword to behead someone, all other behavior was considered flirtatious banter between a ruler and his subjects.
It was Gu Wangchao who got hit again—
Luan Xin secretly regretted: [Why didn't I kill him?]
Amidst the clinking of glasses and the revelry, the emperor and his ministers enjoyed themselves immensely.
Rewards were distributed in abundance, with even the most ordinary soldiers receiving half a pound of meat and half a jar of fine wine, the rest of which could be converted into silver to send home. The morale of the entire camp was high, and even if the enemy launched a surprise attack at this time, they would not gain any advantage.
The Allied forces in the central region also lacked the resources for a second surprise attack.
The noise left behind by Wu You and Ji Moqiu was incredibly powerful. Its destabilizing effect on morale was secondary; the most dangerous aspect was the sheer volume of noise that could trigger inner demons. After all, even Gu Wangchao couldn't maintain composure amidst so much noise, let alone ordinary people who had never experienced so much noise before. The Allied high command, driven to madness, ordered the noise to be eliminated.
A single mushroom can contain hundreds of millions of spores.
The entire battalion has at least 100,000, if not a million, trumpet mushrooms.
As long as Ji Moqiu's remaining divine power has not been exhausted, it's fine if the Allied forces don't touch these mushrooms. But if they do touch the trumpet mushrooms, the spores on them will spread in the air and multiply into smaller, higher-pitched trumpet mushrooms, which are impossible to eradicate completely.
"Burn! Burn it all!"
The noise from the mushroom-shaped horn was so loud that even the leader had to shout orders at close range to barely drown it out. From the leader down to the soldiers, no one could stand this horrific noise. Ordinary methods failed, so they resorted to fire, which had some effect. However, fire was too slow and could easily cause flooding, so the Allied forces had to use other emergency measures.
For example, using the power of words to block hearing.
Commands were conveyed through flags and written messages.
It only treats the symptoms, not the root cause.
The Allied forces couldn't allow everyone in the camp to have their hearing blocked, lest the Kang Kingdom's troops take the opportunity to attack and they be finished. After some consideration, they only blocked the hearing of a small group of people to protect them from the noise, leaving the lower-ranking soldiers and the large number of laborers unattended.
When the war actually begins, their assistance will be limited.
They are used as consumables in peacetime warfare.
Leader Zhao knew that this move would shake the morale of the army, and he was even more aware that Kang Guo wanted to undermine the morale of the allied forces. However, he was also aware that the core fighting strength of the central allied forces lay in the middle and upper ranks, not in these ordinary soldiers. Now, he had no choice but to give up the lesser of two evils.
Lin Su was able to hold on at first.
Unable to bear it any longer, he raised his hand to block out his hearing.
The moment the world fell silent, the restless anger in his chest subsided instantly, and he let out a long sigh of relief: "Phew—it's finally quiet."
Kang Guo's interference tactics are terrifying.
He never dreamed that war could be fought like this, that noise could actually undergo a qualitative change. He figured even a saint couldn't maintain his sanity in such a noisy environment. It was alright for a short time, but he felt his inner demons were being stirred up over time.
When one's resolve wavers, one's self-cultivation crumbles.
It can make people so irritable that they want to vent their negative emotions with violence.
The Allied forces did consider abandoning the camp, but they severely underestimated the terror of the trumpet mushrooms. The mushroom spores were everywhere; one batch would be burned and another would sprout up, like a persistent ghost.
The illusory figure mouthed, "Shen Youli won't launch a sneak attack?"
Lin Su: "How did she launch a sneak attack?"
Qin Li and the others were also curious as to why Shen Tang had suppressed the order to press the attack, when their morale was high and this was an excellent opportunity to strike. According to scouts, the allied camp was in chaos, with fires frequently breaking out of control. This was a golden opportunity!
Shen Tang said awkwardly, "We can't launch a sneak attack."
Noise attacks indiscriminately.
If Kangguo were to attack, their own military orders would be disrupted to the greatest extent, and the spores could spread and multiply further, with a transmission power far more terrifying than the zombie virus. Rather than rushing over there to get beaten up, it would be better to wait until the Allied forces are mentally exhausted from being tormented by the trumpet mushrooms before striking and reaping the benefits.
Qin Li had never witnessed the Allied camp being filled with mushrooms, so he couldn't imagine the scene or how much damage the noise could cause. The only person in the room who could empathize was Gu Chi: "What the lord says is true. It's better to wait five or six days than to take the risk."
Judging from the description above, the noise produced by this trumpet mushroom is far more powerful than what Gu Chi could hear amidst a vast army.
Even Gu Chi took twenty or thirty years to barely adapt to the omnipresent inner noise, and his body remains weak to this day, suffering from chronic mental exhaustion. How much more so for ordinary people?
Shen Tang: "We should also take this opportunity to let the soldiers recover their strength."
High morale is essential for winning battles.
There are always people in the world who don't believe in superstitions and secretly want to see for themselves how powerful the so-called "mushroom" is—just how much noise it makes.
They approached Ji Moqiu.
Ji Moqiu smiled and urged a trumpet-shaped mushroom to bloom.
Thumb-sized trumpet-shaped mushrooms floated up and down in his palm. When someone approached, they would suddenly emit a sharp, piercing scream that seemed to shatter eardrums, which couldn't be blocked even by covering one's ears with both hands. One could tolerate it for a while, but it would become unbearable after a while.
Wei Shou patted his ears, and it took him a long time to regain his hearing.
He suspected that the trumpet mushroom had shaken out his earwax.
"If one flower is this noisy, what if—"
I felt a certain fondness for the Allied forces in the Central Region.
Even if they aren't tortured to the point of demonic possession, their morale will be shattered. It's truly ruthless; I've never seen Ji Moqiu use this tactic before. Ji Moqiu chuckled, "I didn't expect it before either."
No normal person would think of using pranks on the battlefield.
Shen Tang's inaction was not only to give the Central Allied Forces time to deal with the "noise bomb," but also to allow the morale of the Allied forces to fester. Once morale collapsed, soldiers would be more likely to desert. The pervasive noise pollution would accelerate this process, and if the scale of desertion reached a certain level, the Central Allied Forces would fall into a vicious cycle.
The more deserters there are, the more chaotic the morale of the army becomes.
The more chaotic the morale of the army, the more deserters there will be.
As long as Kangguo remains vigilant against the hidden threats of the Allied forces and prevents the spread of the zombie virus, it will essentially be invincible. Shen Tang closely monitors the front lines. On the first day, the Allied forces made little movement. Starting from the second night, scouts began frequently discovering deserters belonging to the central Allied forces. By the third day, the number of deserters had almost doubled. In addition to the lowest-ranking soldiers, there were also a considerable number of laborers and cooks.
Shen Tang frowned: "Is that all?"
There has been no movement from the high command of the Allied forces in the Central Region?
No, aren't these people too trusting of the Allies?
Aren't you worried at all that you might one day be discarded like a used tool after the hunt is over?
Or perhaps the content being played on a loop by the trumpet mushroom was too obscure, and these people misunderstood it? She highly doubted this.
The core of the Central Allied Forces, or rather, the Central Allied Clan, consisted of their private armies. Unless these groups turned on each other, the presence of a few low-ranking deserters was insufficient to shake the foundation of the Allied Forces. On the fourth day, aerial reconnaissance scouts reported that the number of Allied deserters had reached a new high, and the entire camp was visibly much emptier.
The trumpet-shaped mushroom withered because its divine power was exhausted.
"Something's not right, something's a million times wrong."
Shen Tang and the others exchanged glances, guessing that someone was trying to deceive them.
"We divided our forces into three routes, each leading five thousand elite troops to intercept them."
Shen Tang personally led her troops to launch a frontal attack on the allied camp. Although it wasn't the optimal time she had anticipated, it wasn't too far off. However, she underestimated the allied forces' ruthlessness and shamelessness. This wasn't just a deception, but a masterful escape!
Under the allied offensive, the Allied camp's defenses faltered, and within a quarter of an hour, several lines of soldiers' defenses were breached by the Kangguo forces.
With Shen Tang holding the fort, Lu Ji, who had charged in first, rushed back.
"Oh no! My lord! Something terrible has happened!"
Our side discovered more than a dozen tunnels under the camp.
The Allied forces transferred their elite troops right under Shen Tang's nose, and some deserters were also transferred. The excavated soil was hidden in the tents, so the scouts on high-altitude reconnaissance did not detect any movement.
Shen Tang: "..."
Good heavens, are the Allies using their own methods against them?
She almost laughed in anger: "Escaped? How many escaped?"
The Allied forces still have quite a few troops!
So many people have been abandoned?
The guards' behavior didn't seem like they were covering an escape. Didn't you see the horrified expressions on the faces of the captured enemy generals when Lu Ji returned? Shame, indignation, and rage? What, didn't they know their men had been digging tunnels to escape these past few days? Or were they just too good at acting?
(☆_☆)
Happy Mother's Day to all mothers!
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