Chapter 584: The Evil Neighbor (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"What? Where were you attacked?"
Shen Tang suddenly stood up and looked at Ning Yan.
The other subordinates also turned their heads away.
Ning Yan steadied her breathing and said, "Nanyu County."
Shen Tang's face darkened, her lips tightening. Two years of recuperation had made her appear less sharp and more gentle and humble than before. But in this instant, the chilling killing intent flashing in her eyes was even stronger than before: "Those dogs from Shiwu?"
When Longwu County was attacked, the first suspect was Shiwu. However, Shen Tang thought again—according to the intelligence that Yu Zi and the others had sent back from Shiwu, Shiwu was now fragmented, with nearly 80% of the medium and small-sized tribes fighting against the large tribes.
The two sides fought fiercely for water, food, mineral veins, military power, and even who was the rightful heir of the Ten Crows. The once invincible Ten Crows royal court became defunct after Su Shiyilu led the tribes to break away from the royal court, and the two forces turned against each other completely.
The Ten Crow slaves took advantage of the chaos and rose to power. They were large in number, but they had a fatal weakness—they were all ordinary people.
They simply didn't have the resources to fight against a tribal force with extraordinary abilities, but how could Shen Tang, as the mastermind behind it all, not take the opportunity to add fuel to the fire? They were indeed weak ordinary people, but they weren't without powerful trump cards!
They can use "faith" as a weapon.
They spread the legends of their ancestors everywhere.
It brought solace to the tribal residents caught in the flames of war.
Assimilate all enemies into your own people.
The Shiwu tribes, unless a valiant and ruthless chosen one descends from heaven to crush them with absolute ruthlessness, are currently unable to unite as one. Under these circumstances, how can they launch a surprise attack on Nanyu County with overwhelming military force?
Ning Yan's answer confirmed Shen Tang's guess.
"No, it's not the Ten Crows."
Shen Tang frowned: "Then it must be that nasty neighbor."
Due to the timing, Nanyu County received its grain two or three days early and stored it in the local granary. The new grain was piled up and only delivered to the government office after being thoroughly counted. This "good neighbor" called at just the right time—what was he after? Even a fool could guess.
Qi Shan's worst fears came true.
Shen Tang was skilled in agricultural management and focused much of his efforts on restoring people's livelihoods. He allocated the budget generously without hesitation, striving to ensure that the people under his rule were well-clothed and well-fed, thus benefiting the common people. However, his military strength was insufficient, and his achievements could be plundered at any time.
Everyone understands this.
We have been striving to make progress in both directions over the past two years.
While restoring the economy and livelihood of the people within Longwu County, they also used every means to attract displaced people to settle down, recruiting capable young men from among them, rigorously training them, and striving to make up for their shortcomings. After two years of effort, they expanded their army to a total of 25,000.
It's important to understand how remarkable this scale is for a small, relatively unpopulated border prefecture. How many households does Longwu Prefecture even have? How could its local finances and taxes possibly support 25,000 elite troops? It's all thanks to Shen Tang's various revenue-generating subsidies.
Despite such efforts, there are still shortcomings.
Mid-to-high level martial arts practitioners are extremely scarce.
Chu Jie couldn't stand it anymore, so he gave Shen Tang two more experienced veterans. Including those he had tricked away earlier, there were four in total. Adding to Shen Tang's original core group of martial arts experts, it was barely acceptable. The number of people was enough, but the average quality was lacking!
Most importantly—on the battlefield, swords and spears have no eyes, and martial artists are, in a sense, "consumables," with half of them potentially lost in a single battle. Helpless, Shen Tang turned his attention to promising "new generation" talents like Tu Rong, Lu Ji, and Zhao Wei.
These young people are given more opportunities to make meritorious contributions in exchange for more martial luck, thus forcibly accelerating their cultivation progress.
Lu Jue and Bai Su also felt a sense of urgency, and often went into seclusion to cultivate themselves without affecting military affairs.
Shen Tang also secretly helped him out.
but--
Two years is still a bit short.
The first year was a bumper harvest, but the neighbors were still observing.
The second year brought a bumper harvest, but the neighbors had already become greedy.
Shen Tang asked, "Who is the garrison in Nanyu County?"
Ning Yan replied, "It is Commandant Bai."
Suppressing the killing intent in his heart, Shen Tang asked, "How many troops does the enemy have?"
"Five thousand."
The enemy's operation came without any warning.
Five thousand cavalrymen suddenly entered the territory under cover of night, using a feint attack to first burn and kill several villages and towns, creating chaos and misleading Bai Su and her group. They moved swiftly and freely, without hindrance, while Bai Su's side was hampered by fear of harming others. Furthermore, the suddenness of the events put them in a very passive position…
Shen Tang also issued orders.
In the event of war, the people must be put first.
Bai Su's garrison was small and unable to confront the enemy head-on. They could only send troops to defend against the enemy, request reinforcements from the administrative center, and organize civilians to take refuge in pre-prepared shelters, striving to minimize casualties.
The fundamental problem is still insufficient troop strength.
Fortunately, the enemy's target was the grain depot.
They didn't linger in the fight.
Shen Tang knew that you shouldn't put all your eggs in one basket, so he divided the granaries into three different locations of varying sizes.
Even if we encounter the enemy, we won't be wiped out in one fell swoop.
Shen Tang laughed angrily: "Five thousand? That's quite something. If they weren't after the granary, wouldn't these five thousand men have slaughtered everyone in Nanyu County? If you're short of food, you can talk about it openly, or just send troops to forcibly seize it... Do you think I won't get angry?"
She hasn't killed anyone in two years.
Does she really have to force her loving mother to draw blood?
Chu Yao and the others also turned cold.
The group reached an agreement almost instantly.
This loss absolutely needs to be repaid tenfold.
If this major issue is downplayed and the minor issue is ignored, Shen Tang, the prefect of Longwu County, will no longer be labeled a "benevolent and virtuous man," but rather a "scapegoat," a "mobile granary," and a "coward." Then, anyone short of food can send five thousand men to buy it for free.
This kind of opening must absolutely not be made.
"Is it from Sibao County?"
Chu Yao mentally reviewed the distribution of the surrounding neighbors.
In the direction of Nanyu County, there are only two suspects, with Sibao County being the most likely suspect. The previous governor of Sibao County was Yan Cheng, who was killed by Shen Tang and Qi Shan. Afterwards, Zheng Qiao sent a new one, who was replaced by Qiu Cheng, who came from a noble family, after less than two months.
Ning Yan said, "Yes, he is under Qiu Cheng's command."
Shen Tang managed to figure out who this person was.
"Qiu Wenyan?" she sneered. "That old bastard!"
Everyone tacitly ignored their lord's outburst of profanity.
Shen Tang gritted her teeth: "Gather the troops and go back!"
Sibao County...
She knew this place very well.
Chu Yao and the others didn't immediately agree. Instead, they frowned and reminded Shen Tang of something. This Qiu Cheng was from the second branch of the Qiu family and had responded to Huang Lie's call to raise the banner of righteousness to attack Zheng Qiao. In other words, he was one of the allies of the Dragon Slaying Bureau.
Taking action against this person might bring trouble.
"What trouble? Are they going to raise an army to attack me?"
Shen Tang immediately raised her hand and overturned the table.
"I don't care if they're allies of the Dragon Slaying Bureau or trash from the Insect Slaying Bureau. When they're short of food, they don't rob Zheng Qiao, but instead rob his ancestors' granaries. They even set fires and killed people in Nanyu County... If people like Wu Zhaode and Gu Ziyi dare to act as persuaders, I'll take them down with me!"
(。>︿<)_θ
Sigh, D2 levels have gone up instead of down. I have to go to the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University tomorrow because someone in my family is having minimally invasive surgery. I'm late with my update today, sob sob sob.
(End of this chapter)
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