Chapter 452: Striving to Achieve the KPI (Thirty-Two) [Seeking Monthly Tickets]
"You want a stone tablet?"
Shen Tang looked at the vagrant who came to find him.
The village chief was a middle-aged man with a dark, reddish-brown complexion, rough and chapped skin, and a rugged appearance. He was said to have been the former chief of a small tribe. At this moment, he was kneeling devoutly at Shen Tang's feet, performing a grand ceremony, just to ask her for the stone tablet that had fallen from the sky.
"If you agree, my life is yours!" Liu Min was no fool. Seeing Shen Tang's indifferent and unmoved expression, he knew that his life was worthless in Shen Tang's eyes. Considering the various conditions Shen Tang had offered to recruit them, he changed his words, "I have a brother in another place with three thousand men under his command!"
“If the master needs it, I will help you make the contact.”
"I've also placed people in other tribes..."
The composition of the migrant population is very complex.
They come from different tribes.
Those who escaped became refugees, while those who couldn't escape being divided up by the defeated tribes and became the cheapest slaves, bought and sold at will, circulating widely among the lower classes. If the inscriptions were spread through networks of connections, they could quickly reach all of Shiwu.
He could tell that Shen Tang hated those brutal tribes just like them, and that he had brought them plenty of food. Coincidentally, at this time, the ancestor sent down instructions—he believed that this young leader would bring new life to the Ten Crows!
This stone tablet is a guide from our ancestors.
It must not be destroyed.
He discussed the matter at length with his brothers, and decided that he would represent them in expressing his loyalty to Shen Tang in exchange for the stone tablet.
Shen Tang said with a playful expression, "...Anyway, this stone tablet is of no use to me, so it won't hurt to give it to you."
"However, I have a condition—"
When the refugees returned with beaming faces, several brothers immediately rushed forward to greet them, and the other refugees also cast their gazes towards them.
"How about it?"
Did you agree?
"Say it then—"
Liu Min, the councilor, smiled and waved his hand, signaling everyone to calm down: "We agree, we agree, but we're not going to risk our lives for them..."
One sentence put everyone at ease.
They managed to protect the stone tablet and supply food without even risking their lives. What incredible luck they had!
"Tell me, what exactly happened?"
Everyone urged them anxiously.
Liu Min, the manager, said, "We just need to contact some old relatives and see if they're willing to come. It's not easy to get grain in this weather. We don't lack grain right now, we just need manpower. We need to recruit more people. We can pull off a big heist later..."
They were planning to do this even if Shen Tang hadn't brought it up.
With food, why not recruit soldiers and buy horses?
At this moment, someone questioned, "That's it?"
Some people are worried: "Why does it feel like they don't have good intentions?"
The peasant spat, "They weren't well-intentioned, but at least they fed you. Look at those noble gentlemen, they'd rather have rotten mutton in their houses than give you a single maggot! Anyway, I've already risked my life, being alive and having enough to eat is more important than anything else. Whoever feeds me, I'll work for them. If you don't care, get out and don't eat!"
On the enemy front, Shen Tang is on their side; speaking ill of Shen Tang is tantamount to praising the lackeys of the royal court.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Isn't that right?
If they had the strength of these outsiders, they would have already slaughtered the entire tribe and seized all the food. Now that they are being helped as henchmen, they can get all the food without lifting a finger. How can they be considered "unkind"?
The young man who had been criticized shut up, looking embarrassed. There were already few dissenting voices, and this barrage of criticism silenced them completely.
"We should take this opportunity to get more grain..."
The local officials lowered their voices.
"Get more people..."
Who wouldn't hope that Shen Tang would take over a couple more tribes, so they could follow behind and reap more benefits? But they can't help forever; they need to seize opportunities to grow stronger, and the only way to do that is to recruit more people. With people comes power.
"Don't you want to fight back?"
Everyone remained silent when questioned, but the undisguised hatred and ferocity on their faces revealed their true emotions.
"I've been dreaming about this forever!" one man pounded on the mountain wall.
"If you want to, then let's do it! We're dirt poor, what could anyone possibly want from us?" Liu Min's boss saw things clearly; Shen Tang couldn't possibly be here to do charity, but that didn't matter. Shen Tang was a bad guy, but did that mean the lords who oppressed them were good guys?
Whoever feeds you is your mother; whoever has money is your father!
Shen Tang gives money, so they're like her own parents!
With the help of spies planted by Gu Chi and others, the matter was settled in a few words. Dozens of able-bodied men, carrying ample provisions, went to contact nearby refugee groups and to other tribes to "visit relatives" and persuade their families to come and seek refuge with them...
The people Gu Chi selected were responsible for secretly spreading the ancestors' instructions, so that more clansmen would know who the real traitor was!
People have been going in and out of the valley every day for the past two days.
Lin Feng probed Sparrow Head.
Let's see if the latter becomes alert.
result--
She seems to be overthinking things.
Gu Chi scoffed at this, "...What's so strange about that? He's the son of the Queen, a man of noble birth. The people who could arouse his suspicion might be his brothers, nobles of the royal court, or powerful ministers with a large army, but definitely not a bunch of vagrants who can't even get enough to eat. Ants are ants. Even if they stick together and make a fuss, they're still just mayflies trying to shake a tree."
How could the lowly ants shake those in the clouds?
Because they understood this mentality, Shen Tang and the others did not deliberately conceal Sparrow Head's intentions in their arrangements.
The latter would not feel that their identity has been exposed.
In a relatively relaxed state, one is more likely to make mistakes.
And indeed, things turned out exactly as Gu Chi had predicted.
Compared to the inscription's contribution to "verifying the true identity" of the Ten Crows, the insignificant complaints of the lower-class refugees were utterly insignificant to him. Before the inscription appeared, these refugees had been making a living by harassing tribes and robbing others.
After the inscription appeared, there were just more complaints.
Can a few complaints overthrow the royal court?
Lin Feng pouted and said, "In terms of discerning people's hearts, I am indeed not yet skilled enough. But Master, when will we be able to find the true location of this boy? It's not pleasant to keep dragging this on and watching him live on our territory."
Killing more people cannot quell this anxiety.
She wanted to kill this man with her own hands!
Gu Chi: "Don't rush me, don't rush me, we're already looking."
Lin Fengchou, how could he not be sorrowful?
The bird's head is a hidden danger that could explode at any time!
Lin Feng pressed further, "Any clues?"
Gu Chi said, "I found a seemingly useful Word of Power, but whether it will actually work is hard to say. This kid's situation is also special... Ordinary Words of Power don't work on him... I haven't used this Word of Power before... Its actual effect is hard to say..."
"What kind of word magic?"
"I searched for him a thousand times in the crowd, and suddenly when I turned around..."
"But the person was in the dim light."
Gu Chi's expression seemed to be something he couldn't quite put into words.
He'd been searching through all sorts of incantations with search effects lately, even experimenting repeatedly with Jiang Sheng and his lord, but they all failed once the target became a sparrow's head. His inventory was nearly depleted, and to make matters worse, Jiang Sheng and his lord had other commitments and couldn't help him.
Lin Feng said, "Perhaps the student can give it a try."
Gu Chi chuckled and said, "You?"
Lin Feng scoffed, "Me? So what?"
She was, after all, a scholar with a literary mind.
Gu Chi said, "It's nothing. I wish you continued success in your literary career."
You can tell from their tone that they're not very sincere.
(End of this chapter)
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