Chapter 794: Found it! [Requesting monthly votes]
The guard's words struck Yun Ce like a thunderbolt.
The morning bell and evening drum are thought-provoking.
Instantly, it felt like the clouds had parted and the sun was shining. Yun Ce clasped his hands in a fist salute to his personal guard and said, "I have learned much from your words, sir."
Now it was the guards' turn to be at a loss: "No, no, General Yun, what are you doing? You're making a fool of yourself."
Yun Ce said, "Those who are enlightened are teachers."
These were his heartfelt thoughts.
The guard's words did indeed dispel the worries that had been weighing on his mind, making his resolve in the martial arts path even stronger and clearing his head from confusion—even if what the old general said represented the current situation, was the norm necessarily correct? No! Just because the world is full of corruption doesn't mean we can turn black into white and call the filthy pure!
Seeing Yun Ce's stubbornness, the guards had no choice but to accept it with a forced smile.
The two quickly became acquainted.
Yun Ce was curious as to why his personal guards possessed such insightful wisdom.
The guard's ears turned slightly red, and he waved his hand: "These are just a few heartfelt words, I dare not presume to claim any profound insight... If I had to say, it must be thanks to my parents' good upbringing." His parents were none other than Luan Xin.
Yun Ce had some impression of Luan Xin.
He had previously served under his former master, Huang Lie, a position that was inherently awkward. Aside from his junior brother, Xianyu Jian, he dared not interact much with the others. His impression of Shen Jun's subordinates was that each possessed a unique style and sharp, incisive talent! As for Luan Xin and Luan Gongyi?
Perhaps it was Luan Xin's leg ailment that gave him a natural air of vulnerability. In Yun Ce's eyes, among Shen Jun's subordinates, he was the quietest and least sharp. This stereotype was further reinforced when Yun Ce learned that the guards' insights came from Luan Xin.
"Will Mr. Luan teach you as well?"
The guard replied, "When I'm not busy."
Providing resources to the guards is not uncommon.
Civil guards were like military officers, but the relationship wasn't simply one of superior and subordinate. Guards not only assisted their confidants but also risked their lives to ensure their safety. As trusted confidants, with sufficient experience, they might be recommended for further training in other areas—in this respect, it resembled a master-disciple relationship. However, few were willing to personally mentor them.
The guards also knew that this was a rare opportunity.
If you lack natural talent, you can make up for it with hard work.
Stay close to your parents, observe and learn more, and speak less.
Upon hearing this, Yun Ce was deeply moved.
Impressions of Luan Xin have been steadily rising.
At this moment, the guard who was chatting with him said something else.
"Actually, the people I admire most are not the parents."
Yun Ce asked curiously, "Who is that?"
The guard said, "It is Lord Shen."
According to the rules of that era, whoever was in charge of the subordinates was responsible for their support, so the subordinates of subordinates were not truly subordinates, and the same applied to personal guards. In his mind, Shen Tang's orders had a lower priority than Luan Xin's. He was loyal to Shen Tang only because Luan Xin was loyal to her.
Therefore, it was no easy feat for Shen Tang to have his personal guards surpass Luan Xin as the most respected person, and Yun Ce immediately became interested.
Question: "Why is that?"
The guard explained in detail: "Having followed my master for many years, the heroes I have seen are just like the old general that General Yun mentioned, the only difference being the degree. The slightly better ones simply increase taxes to raise military provisions; they do not directly persecute the common people, and others will do the dirty work for them. The slightly worse ones condone their soldiers burning, killing, and looting, using the common people as favors."
In today's world, what the veteran said is indeed the norm.
People who have committed too much killing need an outlet.
Indulging one's desires is the cheapest way to go.
Those powerful figures don't need to spend large sums of money and grain to appease and motivate their soldiers. They only need to point to the common people under the enemy's rule and tell them that whatever they seize is theirs, and they will be like wild beasts unleashed. They achieve their goals with minimal cost.
Are the common people under enemy rule human beings?
Aren't they all just waiting to be divided up as wealth?
The guard said, "Shen Jun is the only person I've seen who treats commoners as human beings, so she's right!"
Upon hearing this, Yun Ce had a vague idea. The reason why the guards had such thoughts was probably not just because Luan Xin had taught them well.
As expected—
The guard sat cross-legged beside him, leaning against the wheel, and said with his head down, "It's a pity that the family of Biao doesn't have this fortune."
Yun Ce comforted him, saying, "Please accept my condolences."
Upon hearing this, the guard was stunned and said, "They are not dead."
Yun Ce: "..."
The guard sighed: "General Yun, do you think that fighting and massacring cities is just for gold, silver, money, and women? Or for killing people?"
Yun Ce countered, "Isn't that right?"
The guard's lips curled into a bitter smile: "Of course not, powerful and noble families have plenty of fertile land waiting to be cultivated."
Yun Ce asked, "Aren't there tenant farmers?"
The parents of the guards were even more pitiful than the tenant farmers.
Tenant farmers rented fertile land from wealthy families. His parents were human oxen, working the land for these wealthy families; they didn't even own their own lives. His parents were captured while fleeing a war and were given to the Qiu family as a reward. Later, as an appendage of the Qiu family's land, they were given to the second branch of the Qiu family, namely Qiu Cheng.
Qiu Cheng heavily relied on Luan Xin, and thus received various rewards.
So another portion of the land was allocated to Luan Xin.
His parents and five siblings, a family of seven, all worked as oxen on those fields. Many others were like them, and Qinwei grew up in such an environment. Luan Xin only discovered these seven dark-skinned, skinny monkeys when he inventoried his assets. After shedding tears, he chose the youngest to raise, and the family began to eat the grain they grew themselves.
There are a few others like him. Their talent is so poor it's as if they were chewed up by dogs in the womb, yet this is already an example of someone who has grown taller than others.
Luan Xin sighed and said, "Study hard and become a decent human being."
The guard felt that the first half of the statement was easy to do, but the second half was too difficult.
For generations, they have not regarded themselves as human beings.
The guards knew that their master was a good person, but the master also had his own difficulties. He could not advise Wenyan Gong to improve the situation of people like them. After all, powerful families like the Qiu family had developed in this way generation after generation.
Is telling someone not to do that any different from drawing their sword and committing suicide?
Similarly, parents shouldn't do that either.
Because if he did that, he would be impeached by his colleagues.
All he could do was not to completely seize the land as tribute. Regardless of whether the harvest was bountiful or poor, he would take a symbolic amount, and let each household handle the rest secretly, carefully to avoid being discovered by outsiders. The guards were already quite satisfied with this.
At least his family was still alive. With everyone working hard and his subsidies, the children in the family gradually grew up and started to look like human beings, slowly shedding their black monkey appearance.
However, the guards never expected that someone would dare to break all of this.
Local tyrants and gentry dared to obstruct the movement, and sent men to strike them down with knives.
With heads rolling on the ground, they told the numb people that these people's heads were the same as theirs, and everyone's lives were the same. The food they produced with their sweat was enough to feed themselves! The bulk of the food should stay in their own hands, not be handed over to others to contribute to their generations of immense wealth!
The guards were shocked when they first learned of all this!
My first thought was that I was dreaming!
My second thought was that this person was the new lord of the family!
Although he felt very sorry for his parents, he still had to say that it was good that Wenyan died, and that they shouldn't be prevented from moving on to a new life.
The deadbeat husband has no say in his beautiful wife's remarriage.
As Luan Xin gradually delved deeper into Shen Tang's inner circle, his personal guards witnessed even more unbelievable actions. One thought kept running through his mind: "Ah, these are things that living people can do?"
Why do I say that?
Because doing it will kill you.
Before meeting Shen Tang in person, he and his colleagues all thought that this Shen Jun must be a god with ten heads! Ten heads taking turns to work, seeing in all directions and hearing in all directions, otherwise Shen Jun would have been assassinated long ago.
Yun Ce was amused by the increasingly unrestrained remarks of his personal guards.
"Ten heads?"
Shen Jun only has one head and one life.
The guard said sternly, "The order is serious."
He sighed again, "When the parents first started working there, they were all terrified, afraid that one day they would wake up to find out that Shen Jun had been assassinated. After all, she was a thorn in the side of many powerful families..."
Yun Ce: "..."
The guard added, "Assassinations have always occurred."
Most of them were caught by Gu Chi and others, but some escaped, with the poisoner being the most numerous among them...
Upon hearing this, Yun Ce felt a chill run down his spine: "It's that dangerous?"
The guard said, "Shen Jun doesn't seem to have noticed..."
Upon hearing this, Yun Ce's lips twitched: "With Shen Jun's strength, he probably wouldn't have noticed an ordinary assassination attempt..."
That's way too weak!
Furthermore, she bullied the local powerful clans along the way, ruthlessly bullying anyone who dared to challenge her. She bullied the toughest of the tough into spineless, until they became numb to her powerlessness. They had no choice but to give up; they resolutely refused to join Mu Chentang, determined not to receive any manpower or financial support from them!
Shen Tang was also used to a life of hardship.
Given that the game starts in hell, the concept of "actually, you can get involved with the local tycoons and enter an easy mode" simply doesn't exist in their minds. They refuse to enter into the brothel, but they have to spit out every single tenant farmer and serf they've hidden away.
She needs people to till the land!
Those people, seeing this, decided to avoid trouble and, before Chen Tang's executioner's blade fell on them, packed their bags and left.
If it weren't for the fact that almost all of Shen Tang's subordinates came from humble backgrounds, given her ruthless and violent methods, once the educated people in her territory fled, places like Longwu County, Sibao County, and Minfeng County would all have evolved into primitive tribes.
Even Luan Xin, when sorting out the team at Shentang Caotai, lamented: "Where did our lord find so many subordinates who weren't from aristocratic families? Military generals are easy to recruit, but scholars are really difficult!"
But Shen Tang managed to do it.
It's just a small price to pay.
Yun Ce believed he knew Shen Jun quite well, but from the guards' words, he came to know a completely new Shen Jun.
He lowered his head, seemingly lost in thought.
Until he heard the guards mutter, "It's just a pity."
Yun Ce asked, "What's a pity?"
The guard sighed, "It's a pity that Lord Shen is a woman. My sister has admired Lord Shen for a long time. Fortunately, she is studying at the academy and comes home every day saying that she will marry no one but Lord Shen. Doesn't she look at herself, with her dark, monkey-like appearance? How can she be worthy of a celestial being like Lord Shen?"
His eyes hurt just thinking about that scene.
The guard muttered, "If only he were a man..."
There's still a chance, at least.
Even heroes can't resist the allure of a beautiful woman... Black Monkey Pass.
Yun Ce: "???"
Yun Ce: "..."
Yun Ce: "!!!"
Did he hear something strange?
Before the bombshell could be fully processed, a voice came from above: "Being a man is useless. The Gongxi clan has always been about one man for life, and there is no room for fickleness."
Yun Ce and his guards were filled with fear.
When did this person appear?
Why was I completely unaware of it?
Yun Ce brandished his spear: "Who are you?"
A young man dressed in a distinctly foreign style sat on the roof of the car, one arm crossed over his chest, his head full of small braids tied on top of his head, with the braids hanging down over his shoulders. He rested his chin on his hand, his expression languid, seemingly full of flaws, yet Yun Ce felt a chill run down his spine.
The spear in his hand trembled slightly.
All of this indicates that this person is very dangerous.
The young man said, "Gong Xichou."
Yun Ce vaguely felt that the name sounded familiar, but couldn't quite place it: "Why are you eavesdropping so suspiciously?"
How long has this person been eavesdropping here?
Gong Xichou spread his hands: "I was listening openly and honestly, without any sneaky eavesdropping. You can't blame me for not noticing?"
The half of his face that wasn't covered was filled with mockery.
It's unreasonable to blame others for being better when you're bad at the game.
However, considering that they praised Mama the whole time, I was magnanimous and didn't hold it against them.
Yun Ce suppressed the urge to make a move.
The third question: "What brings you here?"
Gong Xichou pointed to the guard beside Yun Ce: "Find him."
The guard was stunned: "Me?"
Snakes have an excellent sense of smell, and Gong Xichou was not one to waste time. Before setting off, he asked Luan Xin for the guard's belongings. Upon arriving at the destination, he activated the tracking system, following the dwindling scent trail to find the person.
It wasn't long before we found it.
I wanted to take them back to Chaoli Pass, but they were praising Mama—sigh, he just loves it when people praise Mama.
If you're going to say something nice, then say it more!
Gong Xichou faced Yun Ce and extended an invitation: "I see you have some talent, why don't you join Mama's service?"
Yun Ce was moved by what he heard.
Even if Gong Xichou hadn't said it, he already had the idea.
The Shen Jun described by the guards is simply too attractive.
Putting those aside for the moment, Yun Ce was more interested in Gongxi Chou: "You just said that Shen Jun is from the Gongxi clan?"
Gongxi Chou asked, "Have you heard of the Gongxi clan?"
Yun Ce replied, "Our sect has a long history. My master met a member of the Gongxi tribe when he was young. His name was Ji Moxing, and he claimed to be from the Gongxi tribe. My junior brother was also rescued by a man named Gongxi Chou. I suppose you are him?"
Gong Xichou frowned: "Your junior brother?"
Yun Ce said, "Xianyu Jian, courtesy name Zigu."
"Oh, so it's him, kid." Gongxi Chou remembered who Xianyu Jian was, but that wasn't important. What was important was hearing the name "Ji Mo Xing" from a stranger. "You said your teacher knows... Ji Mo Xing?"
Yun Ce nodded: "Yes."
Gong Xichou counted on his fingers.
"Then your teacher must be over two hundred years old?"
The Jimo Xing that Yun Ce mentioned was the old priest of the Gongxi tribe. Because the two generations of high priests he had painstakingly trained had both run away, he had no choice but to return to the profession at his advanced age, waiting for the birth of a new high priest. Unfortunately, what he got in return was the night of the extermination of his tribe. Gongxi Chou had been spanked by him a lot when he was a child, and he only learned the old priest's name on the day of the extermination.
Yun Ce said, "My master is two hundred and one years old this year. When I came down the mountain, he mentioned Senior Ji Mo and said that if there was a chance, he would like to have another duel with him."
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I read yesterday's chapter review, and the problems do exist... Because there's no outline, aside from the beginning and ending which are fixed, the plot in the middle only has a general overview, making it difficult to control the pacing. I'll pay attention to adjustments later and balance the main and side quests better. (heart emoji)
(End of this chapter)
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