Chapter 221: Does My Lord Have Some Ambitions? [Author's Note]
Regarding this mobilization meeting—
Shen Tang indicated that she had something to say.
A large-scale war involving tens of thousands of people—does she, the leader of a tiny force with only a little over a hundred men, need to participate in the discussions? Ha! That's obviously impossible. She'd just be a background character, listening to a bunch of people bragging and dreaming.
Perhaps I'll also have to work as a straight man...
At this point, there was still some time before the conference began.
Various forces began to hurry up and set up camp, and many of the faster camps already had wisps of smoke rising from their chimneys.
Shen Tang's group consisted of only about a hundred people, so their location was definitely not ideal. If the rebels launched a night attack or assault, they would be the first to be hit. Fortunately, he had some "connections" with Gu Ren, so Gu Ren offered to allocate a piece of land in his own camp for Shen Tang.
Shen Tang naturally did not refuse.
We can't risk the lives of a hundred or so people out of spite.
Before long, a dozen or so simple tents were set up.
Watching everyone bustling about, Shen Tang remained outwardly expressionless, but in reality—Gu Chi tapped her shoulder with his finger, and Shen Tang turned to look at him following the sound: "Mr. Gu, is something the matter?"
A perfect pie chart appeared on Gu Chi's face, three parts helplessness, three parts forbearance, three parts fake smile, and one part collapse. He smiled insincerely: "Can Shen Lang be a little quieter?"
Shen Tang stared innocently into her round, almond-shaped eyes, pointing at herself in confusion: "You mean me? But I didn't say anything."
Gu Chi: "What I mean is, could you please clear your mind, just like before? Hmm? How about that?"
Because the ways of the literati were beyond his control, Gu Chi was always forced to hear the innermost thoughts of people within a certain range, so he hated being in crowded places—especially military camps with thousands or tens of thousands of people! But he never dreamed of this!
One Shen Lang can single-handedly resist an army of thousands!
Her inner thoughts flowed like a torrential downpour, relentless and uninterrupted, without a single refrain. The same was true of her earlier internal curses against the heavens—a variety of creative and varied expressions of her grievances. After listening, Gu Chi felt his vocabulary was being forcibly expanded.
Such disrespect for God, aren't you afraid of divine retribution?
As long as Shen Lang is within the realm of his heart, she alone is the bright moon, and how can those other grains of light be qualified to compete with her?
Shen Tang: "..."
_(`」∠)_
It's not very harmful, but extremely insulting!
Shen Tang muttered, "But deliberately emptying your mind is exhausting..."
Qi Shan added, "This isn't Young Master Shen's fault, is it? It's already a favor that we didn't pursue your spying on my thoughts, yet you still have so many demands? If you're so capable, then control your scholarly ways."
Gu Chi: "..."
The next moment, a coughing sound rang out.
"Cough cough cough cough—"
Qi Shan thought Gu Wangchao would try something else, but to her surprise, he simply covered his mouth with his long sleeve and started coughing violently without warning. The veins on his forehead bulged, his eyes filled with tears, and he hunched over, coughing so hard he could barely breathe, as if he were about to have a seizure.
Shen Tang: "..."
Knowing that Gu Chi might be faking it, she, as a kind and gentle model youth of the new society, could not possibly be ungrateful—Mr. Gu was her savior. No sooner had she agreed to keep her thoughts to herself than Gu Chi stopped coughing.
Shen Tang: "..."
_(`」∠)_
She only has one hobby: being a chatterbox. She's not allowed to say it aloud, but she can think it in her heart—and now she can't even think it in her heart.
Shen Tang felt wronged like never before.
Only after Li Li came over was her attention temporarily diverted.
Shen Tang didn't look at the valuables; he just flipped through the personnel register.
Seven are missing.
She looked up, and Li Li explained, "Those seven people are dead."
The time Shen Tang and his group were away wasn't long, but it wasn't short either; many things had happened outside. The lingering influence they left behind could only deter others for a while; it would lose its effect over time.
The retainers that Shen Tang bought back after going down the mountain were alright; since they had nowhere else to go, staying here would at least keep them from starving. But the young men who surrendered from the bandit stronghold were not so good; they harbored resentment.
Tanuki took immediate action.
He followed Shen Tang's orders, searched her room, found the box of strychnine, and poisoned the five leaders to death.
The rest wanted to besiege and rebel, but he made an example of them.
You must know that Tanuki is born with superhuman strength. Even without martial courage, low-level martial artists would die if they encountered him. He killed two people without even realizing it. Oh, and he did it right in front of everyone, shattering their sternums and skulls with each punch. The corpses were gruesome, and the remaining people were terrified by Tanuki's ghostly appearance.
They were all as docile as lambs.
Li Li thought that Shen Tang was going to hold him accountable.
There were seven people after all...
Just as he was feeling uneasy, Shen Tang beckoned to Lin Feng, signaling him to give seven taels of silver to Li Li. Facing Li Li's suspicious and puzzled gaze, she said, "You made a decisive decision! You did very well. If you hadn't killed these seven, the remaining hundred-plus people would have dispersed."
Shen Tang's family fortune is only this much.
Are the seven treacherous scoundrels who harbored disloyal intentions important?
Or are the remaining hundred-plus books more important?
hehe!
If it were her, she would only regret that those seven people died quickly!
As for why it's seven taels...
Of course it's because they're poor!
If she could, she would also like to splurge!
She can't experience the feeling of spending money like water yet, but "waving pancakes" is still possible. She's no longer the naive girl she once was; now, a single incantation can produce a basket of pancakes. Don't underestimate these tasteless pancakes; compared to the food in other camps—
A feeling of happiness immediately arises!
These flatbreads were soft and fluffy, bursting with the aroma of wheat. Toasting them over a fire gave them a unique, caramelized fragrance, far superior to stale wheat porridge mixed with pebbles. Gu Chi took two bites, slightly surprised—Shen Lang's approach to the ways of a feudal lord…
He had other ideas.
"How many people can Shen Lang's Word of Power sustain at most?"
Shen Tang knew exactly what he was going to ask as soon as she heard it, and replied truthfully, "Two or three hundred people are manageable, but any more than that would be very difficult..."
This was thanks to the unexpected breakthrough in his cultivation level and the doubling of his literary energy last time; otherwise, the number of people would have had to be halved. Using incantations to supply them wasn't a long-term solution, and the recovery of literary energy would take time. Gu Chi was slightly disappointed upon hearing this, but he didn't say anything and continued to enjoy his plum wine.
This plum wine was brewed by Shen Tang out of boredom.
I didn't expect Tanuki to bring them out with her.
Everyone gets a share—
She alone could only drink goat milk with the goaty smell removed.
Tsk, I wonder where Tanuki caught that ewe.
Gu Chi's alcohol tolerance wasn't too bad, but it wasn't great either. Before long, a flush rose to his face, making him look less pale and sickly. He loosened the layers of his collar, revealing his lean collarbone, and took a sip of plum wine with a smile.
He suddenly asked Shen Tang, "Has Shen Lang thought about the future?"
Shen Tang was drinking her milk while inwardly complaining, and looked at him when she heard this.
"What are your plans for the future?"
He took advantage of the alcohol.
He chuckled casually, as if chatting with someone, and asked, "Do you have any plans to seize this place?"
After saying that, he added, "I was worried that if I asked too subtly, Mr. Shen would try to change the subject, so—I have to get straight to the point."
Shen Tang thought for three seconds.
_(`」∠)_
Today—no, last night—I was absolutely furious.
I'm trying to finish my writing, and you have to come and bother me with your nagging...
Who likes to be disturbed when they are focused on their work?
Who likes to be interrupted during crucial moments in a game?
Both men and women dislike it!
I have a bad temper to begin with, especially at times like this, I can't control myself. I told him to stop bothering me, I still had 500 words left, my thoughts were flowing smoothly, and I could easily finish my work in half an hour, but he was still grinning at me!
Do you really think your smile can put out a fire?
It's been years, don't you even remember it?
I was so angry that I slammed my hand on the keyboard.
That's it, the hundreds of pages of Word document completely froze the computer, and the document was reverted to page 9...
Damn it, I clearly set it to save every minute, are you kidding me?!
In my panic, I ended up paying a hefty price for a scam. Unable to find the document, I downloaded some data recovery software called Hi-Recover. Good grief, there was no trial version; it cost 88 yuan for a single use and 108 yuan for a yearly membership.
My brain was completely fried, so I submitted it, only to find an empty document when I retrieved it.
Damn it!
So I rewrote it.
grass!
My inspiration died down; it took me three hours to write two thousand words, and I still found them all rather unpleasant.
I'm so angry my heart hurts.
My cousin is moving into his new house tomorrow and has to get up early for the wedding banquet. Just thinking about it makes me even angrier...
PS: The remaining 2,000 words from the 10th will be added in the 11th update.
(End of this chapter)
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