Chapter 817: Why are we still short-staffed? [Seeking monthly votes]
Having finally managed to coax Cui Xiao away, Shen Tang felt as if her bottom was on fire. She jumped up on the spot, found a blank scroll, dipped her brush in ink, and quickly wrote a long passage. While holding the scroll to warm herself by the fire, she muttered to herself.
"A letter can only contain so little, it's much more convenient to send a message via the Bluebird..." With the Bluebird, a message can contain two or three thousand words, and you can write endlessly without worrying about not having a place to write. Letters are heavy and inconvenient to use, and they are also very difficult to send. It's just a pity that the Bluebird has a limited range, and the more content there is, the more literary energy is consumed per kilometer, so she can't afford it.
Her papermaking workshop is now operational.
The craftsmen experimented countless times over the past two years, exploring various material ratios, and finally produced high-quality paper. However, production was limited, and quality control was not very stable. Currently, the paper mill's output is primarily supplied to government archives across the country, with a large workforce dedicated to re-copying local chronicles, documents, and books, gradually replacing perishable bamboo slips with more easily preserved and portable paper. The remaining portion is sold to Xu Jie to raise more funds for research and development…
Even as a prefect, Shen Tang was reluctant to use paper-based office materials.
In most cases, bamboo slips and wooden tablets were still used.
She carefully checked the letter she had written to Qishan, making sure there were no typos that Qishan could find fault with, before finally closing it up, rolling it into a ball, tying it securely with a special method, and covering it with a layer of special clay. After the clay dried, she then stamped her monogram on it.
If the clay imprint is damaged, the contents of the letter might be leaked. However, even if this letter is leaked, as long as the original hasn't been seen by Cui Shanxiao, everything is fine. Apart from a few key sentences, the rest of the letter is filled with her passionate greetings.
"Someone come here—"
She called out.
Yang Ying, the bodyguard on duty today, jumped down from the roof beam.
Shen Tang handed her the letter: "Find someone to send this letter back to Sibao County and deliver it to the registrar Qi Yuanliang. Go quickly."
Yang Ying accepted it with both hands, and Shen Tang remembered something else.
"Has Shengmei not been in touch with Gongcheng for a long time?"
Yang Gongcheng is Yang Gong.
Yang Ying's father, an elderly man left behind in the countryside.
Yang Ying's eyes softened: "I sent a letter home three months ago."
Shen Tang counted the time backwards on her fingers. Back then, the battle to cross the river hadn't even started yet. She said, "Contacting once every three months is too long. It's alright if I send this letter to Yuan Liang. You can write one to your father as well and send it back with him."
Yang Ying said, "Thank you, my lord."
Who will be filling in next time?
Yang Ying said, "Reporting to my lord, it is indeed the clan."
"Okay, I understand."
Shen Tang's personal guards were not large. In peacetime, they worked in groups of one or two, while in wartime, they worked in groups of four or eight. Each group worked a twelve-hour shift, changing shifts precisely at noon every day. Ostensibly, they were there to protect Shen Tang, but in reality, if an assassination attempt were to occur, it was uncertain who would protect whom. For them, working shifts was more like taking turns resting.
These people were actually Shen Tang's trusted confidants, whom he planned to cultivate. Once the situation stabilized, they would be assigned to various regions to command troops. Their most important task while serving Shen Tang was to observe and learn.
Of course, how far they can go in the end depends on their own abilities.
Shen Tang, carrying the map that Qin Li had painstakingly compiled overnight, went to the government office for the morning meeting. When she arrived, the small hall was already full of people. She greeted everyone before taking her seat: "Last night I acquired a treasure, which I would like to discuss with you all."
She instructed Lu Ji and others to fully unfold the map.
Apart from a few insiders, no one else knew the contents of the cloth. Once the cloth was fully unfolded, its contents immediately captivated them. Shen Tang said, “As you can see, this section details the deployment and garrison of Huang Xiguang’s troops, while this section covers Zhang Yongqing’s. Judging from the map, the actual combined forces of the two sides have increased to 300,000, which is roughly in line with our previous estimates. We estimate that about 60% of them were temporarily recruited in the past few months… The pressure is much less than expected…”
The data on this map is very detailed.
The mapmaker seemed afraid that viewers wouldn't understand it, so they included all sorts of data, making it so simple that even a layman could easily understand it. But precisely because of this, the unsuspecting people began to doubt the map's origin and authenticity.
Many of them were military generals who had fought battles their entire lives, and they had never seen a map so eagerly provided.
"My lord, this map... I've never seen anything like it in my life. You haven't been fooled, have you?" Wei Shou practically glued his eyes to the map, growing increasingly alarmed with each glance. It even showed attack routes, marked weak points in the enemy's defenses, and offered several feasible strategic plans. My lord actually calls this a map? Don't try to fool him with his lack of experience in warfare.
Shen Tang smiled and said, "The map was provided by a righteous man who was 'physically in Cao Cao's camp but loyal to Han,' so this person is trustworthy!"
Wei Shou's eyes were glued to the map: "A righteous man?"
"For his safety, we cannot reveal his identity for now, lest he get hurt. After this battle is over, I will formally introduce him to everyone." She unilaterally declared that Qin Li was hers, and Wu Xian was a thing of the past.
Below, Gu Chi and Cui Xiao had strange expressions on their faces.
Wei Shou's eyes lit up as he listened, and he rubbed his hands together, barely containing his excitement—if his lord hadn't been tricked, and this righteous man truly existed, then he would have struck it rich! He pressed further, "My lord, is the artist the same person as the righteous man?"
Huang Xiguang actually has such a capable person under his command?
Not only Wei Shou, but others also mistakenly believed that the "righteous man whose body was in Cao's camp but whose heart was in Han" mentioned by Shen Tang was on the enemy's side, either Huang Xiguang's or Zhang Yongqing's men. Only in this way could they have such a clear understanding of the deployment of the two armies.
Logically, this makes sense. After all, who would expect a righteous man to be under the command of an ally, not an enemy?
Shen Tang nodded: "Mm."
Wei Shou said, "This man is a great talent."
Shen Tang smiled and said, "This is indeed a great talent."
Wei Shou chuckled, and Chu Yao, who was not far away, knew what he was up to as soon as he heard the laughter, a cold sneer appearing on his lips. Sure enough, Wei Shou wanted such a partner. Ignoring the lord, Gongxi Chou who refused to command troops, and Chu Jie who favored guarding Yonggu Pass, only Wei Shou remained in Shen Tang's camp—the most senior and strongest, and he would be the first choice for leading troops in future battles.
In other words—
That righteous man could be a trusted strategist and advisor! With the ability to draw such detailed maps, what battle couldn't he fight? What battle couldn't he win? Wei Shou could almost see the military merits pouring into his pockets. More military merits meant a larger quarterly budget for military supplies, allowing his soldiers to eat better, train longer, and even have surplus grain to recruit more and expand his forces!
This is a positive cycle!
Although he hadn't yet met the righteous man in person, judging from this alone, he unilaterally decided that this person was definitely more useful than Chu Liangliang! He had a hard time even getting the "Five Virtues of a General" from Chu Liangliang. He hadn't even considered that this righteous man might already have a bound general.
Wei Shou's wishful thinking made Gu Chi's ears ache.
Of course, some people also expressed their incomprehension.
It's not that I don't understand why this righteous man "abandoned darkness for light" and turned against his own lord, but rather that I don't understand why our lord changed his mind at the last minute. If our army had the geographical advantage of Chaoli Pass, we could retreat or defend, and we could also wear down Huang Lie's starving troops.
Let's stall for time and weaken their fighting strength.
The enemy's condition declines, which indirectly amplifies one's own condition.
This was a strategy they had agreed upon beforehand.
Unpleasant memories were stirred within Shen Tang, and she pursed her lips, saying, "We received intelligence from that righteous man, and launched a surprise attack on a camp. Huang Xiguang's troops were short of food, so they tricked refugees into using them as rations. But they already have 300,000 troops..."
The unspoken meaning—
How much can 300,000 soldiers eat?
How long can the already calamized Yan and Gan prefectures hold out?
It wouldn't last long before it was devoured and turned into a desolate wasteland. Shen Tang's tireless efforts in cultivating corn, reclaiming wasteland, and building river embankments... were all to create a stable environment for the refugees. What use is empty land without refugees?
At this moment, someone spoke in a calm to the point of being cold-blooded: "Shen Jun, as long as Huang Xiguang's forces are destroyed, even if the Yan and Gan prefectures are emptied out, as long as there is peace here, there will still be a steady stream of refugees moving in from other places."
As long as there is enough land to cultivate and enough food to feed the people, the lost population can be replaced. Conversely, if we send troops now, our forces, including our ally Wu Xian, only number 100,000. Three hundred thousand against one hundred thousand—even if 60% of those three hundred thousand are prisoners of war and temporarily recruited refugees—it will still inflict significant losses on our side. Every elite soldier we can save is a victory, isn't it?
Once they've consumed all the refugees, they'll be devouring themselves, or they might launch a full-scale attack on our side before that happens. As long as we can withstand the most intense pressure with minimal losses, Huang Xiguang and his men's self-destruction is only a matter of time.
Maybe two months, maybe six months...
After he finished speaking, the entire hall fell silent.
Everyone's eyes, including Shen Tang's, were on him.
This was a new face, a former official of the Xin Kingdom whom she had previously rescued. People's joys and sorrows are not always shared, and even those in high positions find it difficult to empathize with the lowly. Shen Tang mentally crossed this person off. She remembered him; he was quite capable at work, but she hadn't expected his values to be so incompatible with hers. Just to be on the safe side, she decided to keep him away from power—he was too cold-hearted.
Shen Tang asked him, "In some ways, what you said makes sense and is very rational, but do you know how long it takes to conceive a person? A woman carries a child for ten months, and giving birth is like stepping into the gates of hell. Even if the child is born, the chances of raising it are small. A couple may have eight or nine children in their lifetime, some more, but only three or four may actually grow up to adulthood. Although they are just one of the masses, no more than ants in the universe, they have indeed lived for decades."
It takes more than ten years to grow from infancy to adolescence.
It takes about twenty years from infancy to adolescence.
The time required to grow from infancy to old age is longer.
This amount of time is enough for a nation to grow from its founding to its demise, and it's perfectly normal for someone to change their nationality once or twice in their lifetime. This time represents the weight of their entire lives! These are all living, breathing individuals, not just a speck of dust to be dismissed lightly.
Shen Tang: "I cannot agree with what you have said."
Yes, the world has no shortage of refugees.
But the refugees who come later are not the same as the current group!
Sensing Shen Tang's displeasure, the man's expression changed slightly, and he quickly changed the subject. Chu Yao memorized the man's face out of the corner of his eye, then smiled and steered the conversation towards troop deployment. Many others in the hall behaved similarly.
Gu Chi listened to the inner voice and sneered inwardly.
Did this idiot not consider the backgrounds of everyone present before he spoke? According to his logic, more than half of them were people who could be sacrificed and turned into military rations. He managed to offend more than half his colleagues with just a few words; he's quite the character.
He shouldn't be here; he should be under Huang Lie's command.
I reckon Huang Lie would really like his cold-blooded decisiveness.
My lord wouldn't eat this.
An hour later, the battle formation was basically finalized, with Wei Shou appointed as the commander of the central army. It wasn't that they trusted him much, but rather that several capable and qualified individuals were unwilling to take the position. Especially Gongxi Chou; what fun was there in a duel between generals when he was commanding the central army?
He was relegated to the vanguard by Shen Tang.
Although Shen Tang was the lord, he also loved being a vanguard.
Next came arranging the left and right armies, finalizing the military formations and the necessary battle incantations, and intensifying soldier training based on these incantations to ensure the front lines wouldn't falter. Although the addition of Wei Shou and others significantly reduced the pressure on high-level combatants, Shen Tang's army had also expanded, and what they lacked most now were mid-level generals. Despite all the arrangements, they were still stretched thin.
Shen Tang: "..."
When it comes to literary scholars, there's no need to worry.
Not only are they easily full, but they also have an excess of manpower.
Finally, with a wave of her hand, she assigned even more assistants.
Friendly reminder—if you can build a good relationship with them, you might be able to get one or two more [General's Five Virtues].
Limited quantities available, first come, first served!
By the time the long and tedious meeting ended, the setting sun had painted the evening sky with magnificent colors. Shen Tang didn't forget to remind the logistics department to give the soldiers extra food, ensuring they had enough rations and meat as well. With these two days of plenty, it was time to fight the enemy!
As wartime orders were issued, the various parts of this war machine began to operate again. Apart from the newly recruited soldiers and captured laborers, all other elite troops were drawn back from wastelands, riverbanks, and other places, and the common people under its rule sensed a certain message.
"The war is about to start again—"
"Sigh, it's only been quiet for a short while..."
The lives of the common people within the territory of Chaoli Pass were relatively stable. Shen Tang redistributed land to them and rented out a grain called Yumai at a low price. He said it would ripen before the autumn harvest, taste good, and have a high yield, so they wouldn't have to worry about food this winter.
Since they had no other choice, the common people could only give it a try.
Watching their carefully tended crops sprout and grow day by day, the numb villagers regained their hope for life... Perhaps, things really would get better? But this joy was short-lived, and the subsided war reignited!
"What if they invade from beyond the Great Wall?"
"That's hard to say..."
"What are we going to do with these twenty or so acres of corn? This is the lifeline of our whole family, which we've been tending to for a month or two. Sigh, what a miserable life."
"What are you howling about? Isn't this how every family does it?"
Upon hearing that war was imminent, the villages closest to Chaoli Pass sprang into action, with each household packing up their belongings in preparation.
Run if anything seems wrong!
|ω`)
(End of this chapter)
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