Chapter 785: My Turn [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
"Brother Zhaode, aren't you curious?"
Wu Xian paused for a moment with the wine cup in his hand.
"What are you curious about?"
Shen Tang took a sip of the fragrant goat milk. The goat milk had its goaty smell removed, and with the addition of a little maltose and tea, it didn't taste bad. However, drinking milk in this setting was rather unladylike: "Before my little sister, it seems no woman could cultivate."
Why wasn't Wu Xian even a little curious about why?
Haha, how could that be?
He was naturally curious, but Shen Tang's status as the leader of a powerful force took precedence over gender. Wu Xian also wanted to facilitate cooperation between the two families to overcome their current predicament, so he wouldn't be so tactless as to provoke Shen Tang or try to uncover her secrets. He could only remain silent.
“Since Sister Chen is willing to speak, I, your foolish brother, am all ears.”
Wu Xian lightly kicked the ball back.
Shen Tang said, "To be honest, Brother Zhaode, I'm not really sure myself. I was able to cultivate inexplicably. Perhaps it's because my aptitude is too high, and I broke through the limitations?"
Wu Xian: "..."
Shen Tang was amused by his expression, and Wu Xian also chuckled twice.
After several rounds of drinks and dishes, Wu Xian suddenly let out a soft sigh of regret. Shen Tang asked, "Brother Zhaode, is something on your mind?"
Wu Xian said, "I suddenly remembered Gu Ziyi."
From the first alliance in Xiaocheng, Tianhai, Shangnan, and Heyin (now Longwu) have been quite close, and have cooperated in various forms several times. Putting aside interests, he quite liked Gu Ziyi; at least he was a straightforward person.
When Gu Ren was alive, Wu Xian was wary of him because their paths overlapped somewhat, and their forces were relatively close, so he couldn't help but feel apprehensive. Now that Gu Ren is dead and his life is over, and with a common enemy eyeing him, Wu Xian can't help but feel a sense of shared sorrow.
Upon hearing this, Shen Tang's smile faded slightly. She said, "Eliminating Huang Xiguang will be a way to avenge him."
Wu Xian was waiting for Shen Tang's words.
He said, "That's exactly what I was thinking too. Although Huang Xiguang is powerful, if our two families join forces, we will surely be able to defeat him!"
Shen Tang smiled and agreed.
They definitely need to join forces now; the matter of breaking up can be discussed later. Shen Tang's calculations were quite clear, and the clapping and tapping noises made Gu Chi cover his ears. His unusual behavior was mistaken by others as him being unwell, but Gu Chi managed to fool them.
Wu Xian then asked, "Does Sister Shen have a plan?"
If Shen Tang doesn't have a concrete plan, he can bring it up here to gain a certain advantage—Chao Li Pass fell into Shen Tang's hands first, and all the key fortresses and routes have been occupied. Wu Xian, this "refugee," although not exactly dependent, has also lost some initiative. This is what Wu Xian is quite worried about.
He wanted to seize the initiative and plan for the future.
If the two sides can join forces to defeat Huang Lie and Zhang He's armies, the ultimate victor in the Northwest Continent's situation will be chosen from among them. If it were Shen Tang before participating in the Dragon Slaying Campaign, Wu Xian would undoubtedly be the one reaping the rewards while she only gets the scraps. But after the chaotic battles of the Dragon Slaying Campaign, Shen Tang has made up for her lack of high-end combat power and expanded her forces in one fell swoop. Wu Xian really doesn't have the confidence to do anything to her…
In his view, the best-case scenario is that the two countries share the Northwest Continent, then join forces, cooperate, and become allies to defend against other neighboring countries. A slightly less ideal scenario is that Shen Tang owns six parts and he owns four, with the two countries acting as allies and mutually benefiting…
Of course, all of this is predicated on their survival.
Otherwise, even the most beautiful blueprint will be wasted.
Shen Tang said, "My idea is to 'wait'!"
Wu Xian was slightly surprised: "Wait? Wait for what?"
"Wait until Huang Lie and the others have dealt with the other forces."
"This won't do! Isn't this like raising a tiger to cause trouble? Once Huang Lie and the others successfully swallow up other forces, large and small, and gradually devour the remaining ones, they will become a massive force that even if we join forces, it will be difficult to shake!"
It's important to understand that these "other forces" aren't just the Dragon Slayer Alliance forces; they also include the Zheng Qiaogeng Kingdom's troops who weren't wiped out on the main battlefield. Instead of eliminating them before they become a force to be reckoned with, waiting for them to gather together is tantamount to suicide.
Shen Tang said, "This matter has both advantages and disadvantages."
Fighting a war is a very costly and labor-intensive endeavor.
Wu Xian composed himself: "I would like to hear the details."
The downsides, of course, are what Wu Xian mentioned: Huang Lie's army will enter a period of rapid expansion, and optimistically, it could eventually muster 300,000 troops. After several rounds of expansion, both Shen Tang and Wu Xian's families have only managed to gather a mere 100,000 troops so far.
The enemy outnumbered them three to one.
However, aside from the drawbacks, everything else is advantageous.
Shen Tang pointed to the leftovers on the table: "My sister can only eat three buckets of rice per meal on a normal day. If she has some delicious food, her appetite will be greatly increased, and she might eat another bucket. But if I were forced to eat ten buckets, not to mention whether I could eat them, even if I could, my stomach would be so bloated that it would be about to burst. Let alone fighting an enemy, it would be difficult for me to even get up and take a few steps. Brother Zhaode, does Huang Lie have such a good appetite?"
Wu Xian: "..."
The people under both sides: "..."
Shen Mei/Shen Jun has such a good appetite?
Shen Tang continued, "Huang Lie is like someone with ten buckets of rice on the table. Even if he forces himself to eat it, he won't be able to digest it in a short time. Even if we can gather 300,000 troops, will those cobbled-together troops be as obedient as our 100,000 troops on the battlefield? Most importantly, after Huang Xiguang finishes these ten buckets of rice, there will be no more grain left in the granary. We'll just have to wait for him to starve to death!"
She prefers to remain still and observe.
In her eyes, Huang Lie was a greedy snake, devouring various forces, its bloated form seemingly threatening, but in reality, it was pushing itself to the brink of disaster. One wrong move, and the whole game would be lost. At that point, only she and Wu Xian, the two "snakes," would remain on the chessboard.
Wu Xian was riddled with problems, the biggest of which was the fierce factional infighting among his subordinates. As their lord, Wu Xian not only failed to be fair and impartial in his rewards and punishments, but also attempted to find a balance between the two factions. He thought he was acting in the best interests of the people, but in reality, he only fueled discontent among everyone.
Such behavior will inevitably backfire sooner or later.
All she needs to do is provoke him at a crucial moment, detonate one of the bombs, and she can sit back and wait for Wu Xian to destroy himself.
Shen Tang: "The more soldiers Huang Xiguang recruits, the greater the food shortage will be. We just need to wait patiently."
Wu Xian calmed down: "But just waiting like this..."
Shen Tang quickly waved her hand: "No, no, no, I'm not just waiting around."
She still has a lot of work to do.
Shen Tang smiled as she looked at Wu Xian's face, a sight that sent chills down one's spine: "To be honest, Brother Zhaode, I'm currently short-staffed."
She chuckled and rubbed her hands together.
Wu Xian: "..."
Both sides have too many troops; they can't all stay at Chaoli Pass. The extra manpower can be sent out to do many things.
As for what to do—
Having had experience before, Wu Xian had a bad feeling.
Before he could refuse, Shen Tang said, "I'll provide the rations!"
Clear the land! Clear the land! Clear the land!
Take them all over to start a new era!
Wu Xian readily agreed: "Okay!"
Every day, whether they're working or not, they still need to consume food. Lending the troops to Shen Tang is equivalent to her paying for their upkeep, greatly reducing the logistical burden. Why not? He was afraid of missing out on this opportunity if he hesitated to agree.
Both sides felt they got a good deal in this transaction.
——
Compared to ordinary people with weak constitutions, soldiers, especially those with martial prowess, are less likely to be infected by diseases.
With Wu Xian joining the team, the previously stretched manpower suddenly became abundant. So Shen Tang waved his hand and allocated medical rescue teams of varying sizes to each county.
Although called a rescue force, very few of them were actually skilled in medicine. The only ones were military medics specializing in surgery. These medics were trained by Dr. Dong over the years. Since the outbreak of the epidemic in the Heyin region, Dr. Dong had studied numerous ancient medical texts and summarized a set of epidemic prevention and control procedures. Although there was a shortage of medicinal materials, if the transmission routes could be controlled, people and the source of infection isolated, and the sick received careful and targeted treatment, the spread of the epidemic could be controlled…
The disease originated from flooding.
Ordinary people had to boil water before they could drink it.
The filth washed up by the flood and the uncollected corpses were all to be collected and buried in a centralized location, with different areas set up to separate the sick from the healthy commoners. All medicinal herbs that could be gathered within the city were to be collected, managed, and distributed centrally…
Similar scenes were playing out in the counties and districts within the Chaoli Pass.
Somewhere, outside the city.
Two pale-skinned corpses hung from the city gate.
Occasionally, hurried passersby would glance at it disdainfully before quickly returning to their business. It hung there for three whole days, and as the weather grew warmer, a faint stench of death could be detected up close. Someone asked, "Who is hanging on the city wall?"
Pedestrian: "The shopkeeper and clerk of the largest pharmacy in town."
The person asking the question was horrified: "What crime have you committed?"
The passerby said, "He refuses to buy medicinal herbs."
"Refusing to surrender? To suffer such a terrible fate, what a pity!"
The passerby scoffed, “What’s so pitiful about him? This man collected all the medicinal herbs in the vicinity and sold the medicine, which normally cost fifty coins a dose, for five hundred coins. Someone came to his door willing to pay one hundred coins for the medicine, but was beaten to death in the scuffle. When Shen Jun’s men offered to buy the medicine for double the price, he refused, saying, ‘What kind of poor wretch dares to covet my medicine? What Shen Jun or Wang Jun? I’ve never heard of them.’ So he was hanged.”
Upon hearing this, the man sighed, "He truly deserved to die!"
He added, "However, killing someone to steal the medicine... is also unacceptable."
Due to the floods, the already scarce medicinal herbs on the market became even more scarce—most of them had been looted by the Dragon Slayer Alliance under various pretexts, leaving very few. Scarcity drives up prices, and with the outbreak of disease, the infected commoners had no choice but to endure the suffering.
Those who survive are resilient; those who don't are destined to die.
The remaining medicine was also looted by one of the forces. Originally, it was possible to obtain medicine at a high price, but now no amount of money can buy it.
This Mr. Shen is no good either.
Unexpectedly, the passerby said, "Mr. Shen is a very kind person."
The collected medicinal herbs were used on sick commoners; anyone in the family who was sick could be sent to the temporary clinic for treatment.
One tells ten, ten tell a hundred.
Shen Tang is frantically reaping a good reputation.
However, Shen Tang was not happy at the moment.
She'd been busy with disaster relief and medical care lately, and with Wu Xian getting involved, she'd completely forgotten about her malicious intentions. She'd forgotten them, but the malice remained.
"Holy crap—what are you doing?"
Shen Tang stayed up all night processing official documents and unknowingly fell asleep on the table. When she woke up, she was met with the cold face of her own evil intentions, and all the remaining sleepiness vanished.
"You can't disregard martial ethics, I'm telling you—"
Startled, Shen Tang did a somersault and then jumped back to create distance, fearing that the malicious intent would not be so righteous as to launch a sneak attack on her.
"If I had wanted to ambush you, you would have been dead just now."
Upon hearing this, Shen Tang calmed down, scratched the tip of his nose, and chuckled, "You're a pretty good person, aren't you? You're full of martial virtue."
Indeed, if evil thoughts had truly given rise to murderous intent, Shen Tang would have woken up long ago, instead of sleeping soundly until dawn.
Shen Tang asked her, "What are you doing out here this time?"
The evil thought said, "Let's put an end to this."
Actually, she didn't want to rush him, but if she didn't take the initiative to come out, Shen Tang wouldn't even remember that she existed...
As she spoke, she raised her hand and conjured a Mother's Sword.
Shen Tang raised an eyebrow and asked, "When will it start?"
Looking at the spirited young man, a hint of a smile finally appeared on his indifferent face: "Let's begin!"
Having said that, he drew his sword and charged forward.
Without saying a word, Shen Tang walked around the pillar.
A sword flashed and the pillar was destroyed on the spot.
The remaining sword energy left a trail of blood on Shen Tang's neck. Although the pain was not obvious, the other party did indeed have the intention to kill.
Shen Tang shouted, "Are you serious?!"
With a sinister sword finger slicing across the blade, a faint red tinge spread across it. She smiled enigmatically, saying, "I'm serious now, so you'd better bear with it."
As the sun rose over Chaoli Pass amidst Shen Tang's screams, the soldiers could see their lord chasing after him.
"Han Zhang—Han Zhang—Han Zhang—"
"It's extremely urgent, Xun Hanzhang—"
One lord ran ahead, carefree, while another lord chased after him with a sword in hand. When the second lord caught up, he would stab the first lord in the buttocks with his sword. This is how Shen Tang's screams came about.
"What happened?"
Everyone was completely baffled by this scene.
Both were lords, and their auras were exactly the same.
Finally, someone muttered under their breath, "Could it be that he's bored and created an avatar to amuse himself?"
The lower-ranking soldiers, weak in strength, were unaware that breaking through the bottleneck required slaying evil thoughts; they only knew it as an embodiment of literary or martial energy. Even those who knew this common knowledge were surprised to find that the legendary evil thoughts possessed a serene and pure aura, lacking the malevolent and violent nature one would expect.
Those who knew the truth, such as Wei Shou, Ning Yan, and Cui Xiao, were either sent on business trips or were in other parts of the Guanzhong Plain.
Gong Xichou was the first to "smell" something amiss.
"Gongxi Chou—"
Mama, who was being chased, called his name from a great distance.
Gong Xichou's reaction struck a chord. He took a step back, crossed his arms, and said, "Mama, you can only rely on yourself."
If one lacks even the courage to confront the killing within their own heart, and needs the help of others to slay the evil thoughts they themselves have created, it will be difficult to make any further progress in martial arts. Choosing this path is worse than following in the footsteps of that coward Jiang Ao, who constantly hides from the enemy.
Shen Tang shouted, "Then tell me where Hanzhang is!"
Extremely urgent!
Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.
Xun Zhen was completely bewildered when he was told that his lord was looking for him. Before he could even think about what it was about, he saw Shen Tang running wildly from afar.
"Han Zhang—"
"Quickly employ your scholarly ways!"
"A quick thinking opportunity!"
Before Xun Zhen could figure out what was going on, he heard a similar but more mature roar from behind his lord: "Shen Youli, you're planning this? Is this all you've got?"
Shen Tang said smugly, "You're stupid, and you blame me for being smart?"
Xun Zhen's body was faster than his brain.
Even if you spend all your money, it will come back again!
[A quick and clever idea!]
No wonder he reacted so quickly; this was the first time his lord had asked him to squander money, so how could he refuse?
(_)
I can finally see the comments! Waaaaah! It's just that the previous comments seem to have been deleted; they're visible in the backend, but not on the frontend.
P.S.: My tenosynovitis has flared up; my left wrist is experiencing intermittent sharp pains. I'll buy a plaster and apply it tomorrow.
(End of this chapter)
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