"Have you found out anything?"
A temporary camp in Sibao County.
The man who was talking looked to be about 35 or 36 years old. He had taken good care of himself, so even though he had been pampered for the past few years and his figure was a little slack, his basic fitness was still there. He had a finely trimmed mustache and was sitting in the tent sipping a glass of wine, looking very leisurely.
He sat high up in the main seat, his eyes shrewd.
There was a lamp in the tent, but the light was dim.
Judging from their breathing, they are not ordinary people.
A warrior general below laughed loudly, saying sarcastically: "My lord, there is no news in Longwu County. I really doubt that the person who tortured Shiwu half of his life two years ago was really Shen Youli? Could he be an imposter?"
The man put down his wine cup and said, "Is there really no movement?"
General: "Every word is true! The lord is wise and has seen through Shen Youli. He is indeed 'too kind and not enough to kill'. We are stuck in the autumn harvest season, and I think he dare not give up the grain collection and fight us seriously. We can only swallow the loss."
It's not that the generals were arrogant and underestimated the enemy, and didn't take Shen Tang seriously, but Shen Tang's presence in the outside world was really too low. He became famous for a short time, and the battles of Xiaocheng and Shiwu were short-lived. After that, he buried his head in managing his own land. He didn't even make a fuss when Zheng Qiao forcibly transferred him to Longwu County. The outside world talked about him for a while, but then other fresh gossip replaced his position.
The most recent splash was the defeat of the Ten Crows.
but-
To what extent were the Ten Crows defeated
They don't know much.
The Yonggu Pass, a channel for business and trade, was firmly controlled by Shen Tang, and the communication between the Ten Crows outside the pass and the many forces inside the pass was almost zero. Naturally, it was impossible to feel how many horrifying methods Shen Tang had used on the Ten Crows.
Longwu County is a barren land that has been ravaged by the Ten Crows, and it also rejected the fierce dragon-slaying plan led by Huang Lie, and has been "hiding itself" for two years. Other forces in the country have been busy fighting each other, so how could they have the time to pay attention to the unknown Shen Tang
The only sense of Shen Tang's presence in the past two years was that Wu Xiangu, Ren Zhanghe and others occasionally mentioned him, but Shen Tang himself was never seen, and no matter how many good names he had, they had lost their meaning. It took only two years for him to transform from a "benevolent gentleman" to a "cowardly coward".
Qiu Cheng, that is, a man, has never seen Shen Tang in person, and his impression of this neighbor all comes from other people's words.
At first, they thought that this young man must be extraordinary, but after observing him for two years, they found that this neighbor seemed too gentle and harmless, as if he lived in a different world from them. While there were fights outside, the neighbor was still obsessed with farming.
In the first year, the harvest in Sibao County was good, and Qiu Cheng did not want to provoke Shen Tang at this time. At that time, Shen Tang had just finished killing the Ten Crows, and his temper was high and his morale was high. He was not afraid of those wearing shoes, and if he was irritated, he might fight with him.
But this year is different.
The harvest in Sibao County was dismal this year, and the government had difficulty collecting taxes. The common people under the jurisdiction fled one after another, and the soldiers and generals began to run out of money. The Dragon Slaying Bureau Alliance Army also fell into a stalemate, and the two sides entered the stage of competing for manpower and food. Zheng Qiao held the national seal, which could change the weather to a certain extent. In terms of endurance, he was stronger than the Dragon Slaying Bureau Alliance Army, which relied purely on the weather for their livelihood.
Qiu Cheng also began to worry about the food.
Then, someone reminded him that his neighbor was a fat sheep.
Qiu Cheng hesitated at first: I'm afraid it's not appropriate...
Wu Xian and his friends were quite afraid of Shen Tang. They had never dealt with Shen Tang before and did not know his background. If they acted rashly, they would probably suffer a loss. Qiu Cheng could refuse once, but he could not refuse the second or third time. Finally, he was persuaded.
Be sure to do research before you take action.
The person who gave him the advice was very familiar with Longwu County, and even knew the locations of the granaries in Nanyu County and Beishang County.
Qiu Cheng hesitated for several days and finally made up his mind.
If the food crisis is not resolved, the diet will have to be changed.
So, we decided to try it out in Nanyu County.
The whole process was unexpectedly smooth.
There was almost no resistance or counterattack. They just burned a few places and killed some civilians, which led to the withdrawal of the Nanyu County garrison. Qiu Cheng and his men moved the granary, still a little dazed - was this really not a trick by the enemy to lure them into a trap
Normally, there should be an ambush, right
They waited and waited, and finally returned to their own territory, but they still hadn't seen any pursuers, let alone an ambush. Looking at the freshly scented new food, a soldier even slapped himself in the face to make sure he wasn't dreaming - this was actually real!
Qiu Cheng stroked the rim of the wine cup with his fingers.
He sneered and said, "Not necessarily."
He was not as optimistic as this general.
“The barking dog that bites never bites.”
"Who knows if Shen Tang is a dog that doesn't bark?"
The success this time may be because Shen Tang had no defense at all. An easy success does not prove anything. We still need to see how the other party will arrange the next move. However, the intelligence brought back by the spy once again exceeded their guesses. Shen Tang did not take any other actions except increasing vigilance and harvesting in accordance with the schedule.
Really swallow this dumb loss
Qiu Cheng was suspicious.
At this time, a female voice sounded in the tent, mocking: "A dog that bites doesn't bark, but what if this dog is dumb?"
Wu Jiang and Qiu Cheng both looked over.
The woman was not very old, about 29 years old. She was dressed in plain black, with simple makeup. She was as calm as water, and had no jewelry on her hair. She just sat there quietly from beginning to end, and only reacted when she heard people talking about "Shen Tang".
From time to time, traces of pain and hatred flashed across his eyes.
Qiu Cheng said: "Don't underestimate the enemy."
The tone of the words was gentle.
Qiu Cheng would not easily give face to a meritorious official, but he also understood the woman's private work and her prejudice and dislike for Shen Tang. Who asked Shen Tang to take away all the male members of the woman's household? The two sides had a deep blood feud.
The woman lowered her brows.
His eyes fell on the monogram on his waist.
From time to time, he would fiddle with the ears of corn with his fingers.
Qiu Cheng put down the wine cup.
"Send someone to keep an eye on Beishang County's actions..."
The granary in Nanyu County can only solve his immediate needs. If he wants to spend the New Year safely, there is still a big gap.
Since the neighbor is so fat and so easy to take advantage of, only a fool would only visit once. Nanyu County was just trying out a small trick to test Shen Tang's reaction and bottom line.
The main meal has not yet been served.
According to the information provided by the woman, Beishang County has a flatter terrain and more arable land than Nanyu County. Shen Tang has put a lot of effort into this area, so naturally the grain production is also higher. It is roughly estimated that the grain stored in the granary can solve the military pay problem of the soldiers under his command for most of the year, so Qiu Cheng could not help but be tempted.
However, this time, the action must be more thorough.
"only!"
Seeing that it was getting late, the general shared the good news and tactfully withdrew, leaving Qiu Cheng with the woman. Before the two of them spoke, a few whispers were heard outside the tent.
Not long after, a middle-aged woman dressed neatly came in with a food box in her hand. She smiled and said, "It's so late and the master hasn't served the meal yet. I know he's been drinking again. Why don't you try to persuade him?"