Chapter 339: The Chaos in the Northwest (Part Two) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"This Shen Tang is quite interesting..."
Zheng Qiao looked at the several documents with a gloomy expression.
Suddenly, he remembered that Shen Tang had retreated from the Allied Forces halfway through the campaign last year. He was used to being proud and arrogant, and hadn't thought much of it at the time. However, his senior brother Yan An was worried and sent someone to test him, and the result was that there was no problem. If Shen Tang were truly a major threat, Yan An wouldn't have kept it a secret. Now, looking back, it seems that they both misjudged him.
Zheng Qiao's mind was in turmoil.
Zheng Qiao was wary of Shen Tang, but had not yet developed the intention to kill him. In Zheng Qiao's eyes, Shen Tang was like Wu Xian and Gu Ren, with some skills and influence, recruiting a group of people to build a makeshift troupe.
but--
A makeshift operation is still a makeshift operation.
It's not presentable.
They're jumping around like they're someone important right now, but that's only because Zheng Qiao isn't paying attention to them. If he really wanted to settle scores, sending elite troops to the border would wipe out these petty thieves in no time.
Zheng Qiao's biggest threat right now is still the King of Pigs.
After dealing with the pig king, turn around and deal with these fleas.
For now, we just treat it as a joke.
Zheng Qiao pressed down several folded documents.
The next day at court, Zheng Qiao agreed to the request of the envoy from Shiwu. A sycophantic minister mentioned his children, and Zheng Qiao understood the implication. He then selected an unfavored concubine's daughter from that minister's family as his princess and brought her to the palace to await marriage.
Then, under the pretext that "the princess is too young to endure the hardships of a long journey," he hinted to the envoy of Shiwu that the prince who was to marry Shiwu should come to pick up the bride and bring the "betrothal gifts" with him.
Zheng Qiao's intentions were quite obvious.
He wanted a dowry of 100,000 elite soldiers.
The prince also came over as a temporary hostage.
Only in this way can we demonstrate the sincerity of our alliance.
Upon hearing this, the envoy from Shiwu looked troubled, but under the weight of Zheng Qiao's promises of other benefits, he gritted his teeth and agreed. Finally, like a pitiful victim of a scumbag's manipulation, he cautiously said, "...Our people's sincere intentions are hoped to be reciprocated by Your Majesty..."
Zheng Qiao's smile didn't reach her eyes: "That's natural."
Yan An looked indifferently at the two men with ulterior motives. His unusual silence completely shattered the hopes of the few courtiers who still held a glimmer of hope—if Yan Xingning didn't speak, who else could stop Zheng Qiao from playing with fire and getting burned? The fate of the Geng Kingdom was truly sealed.
Their deep grief and indignation went unheard.
In the months that followed, while Shiwu and Beimo returned to regroup their troops, the situation in the Northwest strangely calmed down, with only occasional minor conflicts. The King of Zhi seemed to sense a hint of danger, and things quieted down considerably during this time, with summer arriving in the blink of an eye.
He Yin, Fugu City, the seat of government.
After finishing dealing with a large stack of bamboo slips and documents, Shen Tang stretched lazily and looked at her wrist—or rather, her sleeve—as if she had discovered a new continent. The clothes, which she remembered as fitting perfectly, even a little too big, now felt somewhat cramped.
In other words, she started to grow taller!
Shen Tang noticed the changes in herself before summer arrived.
To monitor her height changes, she would periodically measure her height against the wooden pillars in the main hall, leaving a mark with charcoal. Shen Tang looked left and right to make sure no one was there, then secretly got up.
"Hehe, you've grown taller again..." If there's one thing she's most dissatisfied with, it's definitely her height! Even Lin Feng, who's younger than her, seems to have grown taller without her noticing, quickly becoming her equal or even taller. How could she stand for that?
He remained silent, but was actually extremely anxious.
I secretly used many methods to increase my height, such as eating two eggs and a bowl of goat milk every morning, and doing stretching exercises before going to bed.
Just when she was worried that she might not grow tall and would become a height basin, her body finally entered a period of rapid development. Every ten days or so, she would grow a little taller, and the soft flesh on her cheeks would gradually disappear.
As his eyebrows and eyes matured, they became more defined, and his features became more delicate and refined than before. What a handsome young man!
Height is no longer a concern, but—
He raised his hand and patted his flat chest.
He could only touch his own sternum with his palm. Thinking of the few brave warriors under his command, he felt envious and his mouth watered.
sigh.
Who doesn't like a figure with a curvy bust and shapely hips?
A proud chest is something you can only dream of.
"Those bouncy pectoral muscles..." ε=(ο｀*))) Sigh, so many people have them, why is she the only one left out?
The sound of clothes rustling could be heard outside.
As the footsteps drew closer, Shen Tang lowered her hand.
Lin Feng brought in a food tray.
"My lord, lunch is here."
Shen Tang put it down and glanced at it.
Good heavens, it's all meat!
Lin Feng lifted the lid of the soup bowl, and the aroma of meat wafted out.
Seeing that Lin Feng's forehead was covered in a thin layer of sweat and her face was flushed from the sun, Shen Tang took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and handed it to her to wipe her sweat: "Such a small matter as delivering food can be left to others by your father. Why did you have to make the trip yourself?"
Lin Feng looks much younger than his actual age these days.
At first glance, one might mistake her for a girl in her early teens.
"The teacher was worried that you wouldn't eat, so she sent Feng to watch over you and make sure you finished every last drop of soup." Lin Feng wiped away the thin layer of sweat with a handkerchief, took out a fan from his waist, unfolded the bamboo surface, and fanned Shen Tang. "You've gotten thinner again."
Shen Tang: "..."
Even if she were a pig, she couldn't resist Chu Wuhui's feeding methods. Three meals a day plus two snacks, every meal was meat. No matter how good Chu Yao's cooking skills were, she now felt a bit greasy at the sight of meat.
"I've grown taller, so I naturally look thinner."
She's grown so fast lately; her once-slender frame now looks like a sheet of paper. When Chu Yao returned from his business trip, he immediately had the head chef slaughter a pig and personally cooked a whole pig feast for Shen Tang, also instructing the kitchen to send over highly nutritious foods every day.
I wish I could make up for the loss of weight.
Shen Tang was worried that she would be overfed and become a big fat man.
Lin fanned the air as she buried herself in her rice.
The cicadas chirped incessantly in the courtyard.
Shen Tang rubbed her round belly, feeling a bit like food was stuck in her throat. While manually digesting her food, she watched Lin Feng clear the dishes. Suddenly, she remembered something: "Why haven't I seen Yuan Liang lately? Judging by the time, Su Shang should have given birth by now, right?"
Cats seem to have very short gestation periods.
Lin Feng smiled and said, "She was born the day before yesterday."
"The other day? How come I didn't know?"
"Such a trivial matter is not worth taking up your time, sir." The young master is so busy with official duties that he often forgets to eat. The other gentlemen are also the kind of people who are so busy that they can disappear for ten days or half a month at a time. It's good enough if they can remember each other occasionally.
Shen Tang said angrily, "He clearly forgot."
If you need something, just send a message via Qingniao (a type of bird communication tool). How much time would that take?
Lin Feng did not respond.
After a couple of breaths, Shen Tang awkwardly asked, "How many were born?"
Lin Feng replied, "Nine of them, all of them survived."
This is extremely rare.
Su Shang had nine babies during her first pregnancy.
Under normal circumstances, most of them will perish prematurely.
Mr. Qi stayed up all night to deliver the kittens, carefully wrapping them in his spiritual energy to keep them warm. How did Lin Feng know all this? Because Lin Feng went to Chu Yao's place for his early morning class before dawn, heard the commotion next door, and went with his teacher to see what was going on.
Nine? That's such a high yield?
Lin Feng recalled the appearance of those kittens.
He said, "She probably took after her father, the cat. She's not as pretty as Su Shang. Mr. Qi looked disgusted."
According to the teacher's explanation, this litter of kittens should have three different biological fathers, which left Lin Feng dumbfounded.
Are kittens born in the same litter destined to have different fathers than their mother?
Chu Yao said: "That's how cats are."
Lin Feng's curiosity was piqued: "Can people do that too?"
Chu Yao: [I've heard that such things exist, but those are just tales from strange and unusual stories; their veracity is unknown and they can't be taken seriously.]
Fu Gu Miao Ba lay in the "birthing room," surrounded by nine kittens. Qi Shan couldn't bear to see this and asked the chef to cook a large pot of thick, white crucian carp soup to nourish Su Shang and help her produce milk.
As her thoughts returned, she heard her husband tsk-tsk and tease, "This Su Shang really doesn't understand its old father at all. It only has eight nienies, gave birth to nine pups, and now the last one needs Yuan Liang, the new grandfather, to help feed it, right?"
Lin Feng was stunned for a moment, not understanding at first.
After understanding, she blushed.
Shen Tang realized he had spoken carelessly and coughed awkwardly, "I'll go see Su Shang after I finish these official duties..."
While I'm at it, I'd like to offer my condolences to the poor old cat.
However, plans can't keep up with changes.
Before Shen Tang could process more than a few bamboo slips, Xu Jie arrived.
This man is very busy now. The last time Shen Tang saw him was more than a month ago. He was busy with business in various places and would only come to Fugu for a day or two when he was "purchasing goods".
"What a rare guest! What brings Wen Zhu here?"
"I have met Mr. Shen."
"Do we need so much formality between us? Wenzhu, sit down." Seeing that Xu Jie looked travel-worn and had dark circles under his eyes, Shen Tang asked with concern in a teasing tone, "You can never earn enough money, Wenzhu, why don't you go and rest?"
Xu Jie is already so rich, yet he still works so hard.
ε=(ο｀*))) Sigh
Looking at myself, the harder I work, the poorer and more unfortunate I become.
Xu Jie's expression turned unexpectedly serious. He said, "If it's not because of these things, has Lord Shen heard any rumors recently?"
Shen Tang was stunned for a moment.
"The sound of the wind? What sound of the wind?"
"Could it be that there's another war going on somewhere?"
Since the start of spring planting, the river magistrate has received four to five thousand refugees over the past few months. These refugees have brought Shen Tang a considerable workload, but fortunately, the river magistrate already has experience in governance and can settle them according to the established procedures.
Those who refuse to comply—
Shen Tang has never indulged them.
If you want to establish yourself in her territory and receive her protection, then you have to follow her rules.
If anyone commits a crime, they will be arrested or executed; there will be no exceptions just because they are homeless refugees. A series of bloody actions quickly brought the situation under control. Most of the refugees remained obedient and did not cause any disturbance.
Shen Tang hired them to work, provided them with food and temporary shelter, and did not drive them away; they should be grateful.
If another batch of refugees arrives...
Shen Tang seemed to see a huge deficit.
Xu Jie shook his head: "It's not war, it's an epidemic!"
Upon hearing those two words, Shen Tang's heart pounded wildly.
"An epidemic? Where did the epidemic break out?"
In a time of limited medical resources, once an epidemic spreads, the number of deaths and injuries can be even greater than that of a war.
Shen Tang only has this many people under his command.
It cannot withstand damage.
Xu Jie said, "It's Shangnan!"
"Shangnan? Gu Ren's territory?"
Shen Tang was not reassured upon hearing this.
He then asked, "Is it large-scale? What's the situation?"
Xu Jie said, "I heard that the village has been sealed off, and the situation—I'm afraid it's not optimistic. This disease is spreading rapidly..."
He was originally going to Shangnan to collect debts.
Upon arriving at the border, they overheard a group of people chatting in a teahouse, saying that two villages were being heavily guarded by soldiers, and that all roads leading from the villages were under surveillance. Gu Ren's sixth brother, the former imperial physician with exceptional medical skills, had already led his men there.
Xu Jie immediately changed course.
First, he went to Tianhai to deliver the message and to take strict precautions against people coming from Shangnan. Then, following Wu Xian's instructions, he came to Heyin.
Yeah, I'll also stock up on some goods. Spirit wine is incredibly popular in Tianhai; everyone's scrambling to get their hands on it.
Xu Jie secured many big deals thanks to it.
Upon hearing this, Shen Tang's expression turned solemn.
He asked, "Have you found out the source of the epidemic?"
Xu Jie was cautious and prepared in advance.
"The specific details are unknown, but judging from the Bluebird letter that came from the plague-stricken village, the source should be the refugees. They were the first to fall ill, and it only took them seven days from the onset of the disease to their death. When they died, their bodies were bluish-black, covered in bruises, and emaciated, as if something had drained their life force. Initially, sixteen people fell ill, but none survived..."
We only know that the disease originated from the refugees, but we don't know where the refugees contracted the disease from...
"He died in seven days?"
Even Shen Tang couldn't help but gasp.
He kept recalling diseases that matched his symptoms.
With such a high mortality rate, the disease can cause people to become extremely emaciated, and their skin will turn bluish-black and purplish-blue...
"Do the annotations reveal the original origins of those refugees?"
Xu Jie shook his head: "I don't know."
His informants weren't so good that they knew everything.
He obtained this information by making connections with various parties.
Shen Tang took a deep breath to suppress her thoughts.
"Thank you for the information in the annotation."
Regardless of the circumstances, taking preventative measures is the most important thing.
Refugees should also be extra careful...
Shen Tang's mind raced through dozens of regulations for preventing epidemics, but before she could formulate a concrete plan, Lin Feng returned with terrible news: "My lord, my lord—"
Seeing that Xu Jie was still there, he swallowed the rest of his words.
Shen Tang merely offered a token rebuke, lightly brushing aside Lin Feng's rudeness: "What's wrong? Why are you in such a hurry?"
A look of anxiety crossed Lin Feng's eyes.
"Yes, it's Azi..."
What's wrong with her?
"Azi suddenly vomited blood and fainted..." There were absolutely no warning signs. She was panicked and at a loss, saying, "Besides Azi, there were also Mr. Wan and several others..."
The Mr. Wan that Lin Feng mentioned was actually a veteran official in the Fugu administrative office. He was methodical in his actions, and although his abilities were mediocre, his execution was excellent. He was always the first to rush to the front whenever Shen Tang gave an order. Despite his age, he worked overtime even harder than the young people.
If someone tries to persuade him, he gets angry, thinking they think he's too old and can't work anymore, and insists on showing them proof, almost like James Bond. Even Shen Tang, seeing how energetic the old man with his white hair is, couldn't help but advise him to take a couple of days off.
He was sick for two days after the start of summer.
He had just recovered from his illness and immediately came to the clinic to report for duty.
Whenever someone inquired about his illness, he would confidently declare that he was in good health and could work for another ten or eight years.
Why is he vomiting blood too?
Shen Tang thought of something almost immediately.
She looked at Xu Jie.
Xu Jie looked at him with an equally grim expression.
In an instant, the same thought popped into their minds.
Epidemic!
()
I'll update 10,000 words tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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