Shen Tang's ominous premonition was soon confirmed.
This is indeed a very strong evil wind.
The city walls were in ruins, the streets were desolate, and the buildings still had traces of charring after the fire, as if this was a dead city with no one living in it. This was the scene that Chen Tang saw when she rode into the city on a motorcycle. After walking for a long time, she finally saw a few curled up figures rummaging around in the ruins. She jumped off the motorcycle and walked forward without hesitation, trying to get closer to one of them.
"My Lord—"
Xun Ding looked at Chen Tang nervously.
Chen Tang waved his hand to signal him not to be too nervous.
"I'm fine, just checking."
If there was someone in the city who could threaten her life, the city would not have been breached in less than half a day. Chen Tang supported his knees with both hands, bent down, and approached the old woman. The weather had not yet completely warmed up, and the old woman was wearing a thin jacket. The outer layer of the jacket was worn out, and there was not even any reed padding inside. The exposed skin had frostbite, some of which had cracked and pus was oozing out.
"Old lady, what are you doing?"
The old woman is old and her hearing is not very good.
Chen Tang asked three times in a row, but the other party did not respond. His skinny body was shivering in the cold wind. She raised her hand and took off her coat and covered the old man with it. Only then did the other party notice Chen Tang and turned his head tremblingly.
Those were a pair of extremely turbid eyes.
When she looked down and saw the clothes draped over her shoulders, she sat down on the ground as if she had just woken up from a dream, and hid back in panic and fear. Chen Tang then saw clearly what the old man was holding in his hand, which turned out to be a little bit of moss. Chen Tang raised his hand to wave Xun Ding away, signaling him to stay away, so as not to scare people with his big body. When the other party calmed down, he said, "Old woman, can I ask you something?"
The old woman didn’t know why Chen Tang came.
Chen Tang asked, “Where have the young and strong people in the city gone?”
When attacking the city, Chen Tang carefully discovered that the soldiers guarding the city were all old veterans. Although there were generals guarding the city, they were all white-haired veterans with weak strength. After entering the city, there were no young and strong figures. She had a vague answer in her heart, but she didn't dare to think about it.
The old woman's breathing was unstable and her speech was unclear.
If you listen carefully you can still make out what she said.
She said: "Let's go, let's go... let's all go..."
The old woman carefully identified Chen Tang's clothes with her cloudy eyes. Seeing that she was dressed cleanly and decently, she suddenly knelt down on both knees, tried to close her knuckles that were covered with frostbite and stiff and unable to straighten, and pretended to bow deeply, begging for food from Chen Tang with tears in her voice. Chen Tang asked Xun Ding to bring the food. The old woman was so excited that she wanted to kowtow, but Chen Tang stopped her with his hand: "Old man, don't do this-"
After getting the food, the old woman did not eat it herself.
Instead, he waved to the ruins not far away.
After a while, a thin, dark figure crawled out and staggered to the old woman. The old woman carefully tore off a small piece and fed it to the child. People nearby who saw this scene also gathered around and knelt down towards Chen Tang.
They all came to beg for food.
Of course, there are also people with fierce eyes.
But seeing the tall and strong Xun Ding beside Chen Tang, she didn't dare to act rashly. Chen Tang asked Xun Ding to distribute all the dry food. At this time, she could no longer care about other things. A more terrible idea quietly emerged, and at the same time, it made her feel like she was falling into an ice cellar...
I'm afraid there are really no young and strong people in this city.
Only the elderly and children are left.
After a while, Xu Quan rode up on horseback, looking unhappy: "My lord, before we arrived, the local commander led the young men to retreat, and all the food and property in the city were looted and taken away. Before leaving, they also set a big fire, burning more than half of the buildings in the city."
Some families even hid some food so they could barely survive for a few days.
More people are facing the desperate situation of running out of ammunition and food.
The old woman next to me was just looking for moss in the corner. But she was old and weak, and what she found would be snatched away by those in better health. When Xu Quan came, he also saw someone removing the mud from the lake wall, which was mixed with reed hay to satisfy hunger.
Chen Tang was shocked by the news brought by Xu Quan.
She murmured, "This is absolutely amazing! This is absolutely amazing!"
Chen Tang thought that the enemy chose to defend the city to the death, and to block their progress as much as possible. However, she didn't know that the enemy was even more ruthless. They took away the young and strong, leaving the old and weak behind, and the city was out of ammunition and food. If Chen Tang and others came later, would there be any living people in this city? She looked at the people who almost rushed forward to grab food and stuffed it into their mouths frantically, and she didn't dare to think about it.
"Yong'an, go find your father and arrange for people to set up tents to distribute porridge..." Chen Tang now regretted not bringing Lin Feng out. If she were here, the food pressure would be much less, but Lin Feng stayed in Sibao County for cotton, so it was difficult to make a choice.
Xun Ding said: "My Lord, our food is also..."
The food that Shen Tang brought out was sufficient.
Afterwards, two batches of supplies were received from the rear.
But given the current situation, there is simply not enough food.
Chen Tang did not allow any doubt: "Do as instructed!"
Xun Ding could only clasp his fists and say, "I obey your command."
Shen Tang’s actions were not hidden from the three allies.
Tao Yan said with a sigh of relief: "Our Mr. Shen really keeps his word, but I don't know how much of your family property can withstand such a waste." There are also many elderly and weak people in the city.
The consumption of these mouths is not much less than that of the young and strong. The young and strong can fight for them after eating the food, but feeding the old and weak is just a waste of money. Tao Yan is fanning the flames at this moment, hoping that Chen Tang will take out all the food to do such a stupid thing with no reward.
Chen Tang was in a very bad mood.
He squinted at Tao Yan with contempt: "Haha, the filial son and grandson are also starting to point fingers at your ancestor's pockets? Even if I take your ancestor into the coffin, it will not be your turn to take advantage of me. If you don't want your bean sprout to be kicked again, shut your back garden."
Tao Yan stared at Chen Tang with a sullen face.
But he didn't dare to continue provoking this time.
It's useless to be beaten by a mentally ill idiot.
What Chen Tang didn't expect was that she thought the three allies would just stand by and watch, but Qian Yong was the first to lend a helping hand. Of course, he didn't provide any food - Qian Yong had been relying on his classmate Zhang He for these years, and Zhang He provided food and money to gain territory, and he helped the other side fight - basically he had one meal to eat, and after eating the last meal, he worried about the next meal. However, he still had some people on hand.
There's no problem in sending someone over to help.
Shen Tang looked at him suspiciously and warily.
Qian Yong grinned and said, "Why is Mr. Shen so cautious? You are not the only human being, and the others are all beasts. But, to put it bluntly, Mr. Shen is doing this kind of thing, which is thankless and will not be rewarded."
Realizing that Qian Yong had no ill intentions, Chen Tang let down his guard and responded calmly, "Their survival is our reward."
Qian Yong slapped his thigh and sighed, "We should really ask Zhang Yongqing to come over and see what a living saint looks like."
Chen Tang thought he was being sarcastic and didn't want to pay any attention to him.
Unexpectedly, Qian Yong took the initiative to explain: "I have no ill intentions in what I said. I am praising you, really. Although the relationship between our two families is not good, I have to tell you the truth from the bottom of my heart - I have never been convinced by anyone in my life, but I am convinced by your character, Shen Youli."
Qian Yong didn't want to get involved.
But seeing that Chen Tang not only talked but also actually did it, he felt that he should do something too. It would be so embarrassing to just watch.
If he can't provide food, he can at least provide a person.
Finally, he wanted to ask Chen Tang a question.
Qian Yong had been holding it in his heart for a long time.
"Mr. Shen actually has no worldly desires at all?"
Chen Tang: “???”
This question is a bit dangerous.
Fortunately, Qian Yong's subsequent words redirected the topic in a normal direction: "People live for fame, wealth, luxury cars, or beautiful women... Mr. Shen seems to be too strict with himself, which is really not like a human being."
Shen Tang was silent for a while.
He said resentfully, "Actually, I love money."
Qian Yong suddenly thought that he had misheard the tinnitus.
"Love money?"
Chen Tang said helplessly: "It's my fate to lose money."
Anyone who encounters such a group of weird scholars who waste their lords will be empty-handed. What else can she do except being asexual? However, her truthful words sounded like a perfunctory excuse to Qian Yong. He did not take Shen Tang's answer to heart.
After Qian Yong left, Chen Tang turned around and whispered to Gu Chi.
"Why do I feel like Uncle Qian is seducing me?"
Is this man deliberately trying to show his affection and get her attention
Gu Chi selectively ignored it and extracted the key information: "He is trying to show goodwill to the master and repair the relationship between the two families. Qian Shuhe and Zhang Yongqing have a delicate relationship. On the surface, they are still harmonious, but they have frequent conflicts behind the scenes. Zhang Yongqing wants to get rid of Qian Shuhe, this burden, so doesn't he have to look for a new partner? If the master can accept him, it would be great..."
Qian Yong wanted a piece of his own territory the most, to set up shop and run his business, but he hit a wall with Chen Tang, who seemed to be an easy target, and his vitality was seriously damaged. He continued to participate in the Dragon Slaying Bureau in order to take the opportunity to gain a foothold, but his hope was slim at the moment.
Since you can't be independent, then continue to rely on others.
Relying on Zhang He is cheating, and relying on Chen Tang is also cheating.
Even if there is a grudge, as long as Chen Tang's character can stand the test, it is also a guarantee for Qian Yong. It's just that for others, Qian Yong's closeness may be a good thing, but Chen Tang's territory is not much, and there is no extra space for Qian Yong. If she accepts Qian Yong, she will have to pay money and food, which is not cost-effective.
Therefore, Chen Tang pretended that he didn't know about this.
But he did not reject Qian Yong's goodwill.
One less enemy is always a good thing.
Zhang He did not give Chen Tang much time to deal with the aftermath. Warfare is about speed, and taking advantage of the high morale, they took another city in one go. But the result was obvious. The destination of the attack was a familiar scene. Only the old and weak were left in the city, no young and strong, and no food. Zhang He said: "The enemy has evil intentions and deliberately used this trick to consume our food and grass."
Specifically—
The only ones consumed were the Shen Tang family.
Tao Yan deliberately raised his voice and said in a sarcastic tone: "The opportunity for war cannot be delayed. We should join forces with the leader and his men as soon as possible and gather our forces to attack Qianzhou. Don't lose the big picture for the sake of the small."
Chen Tang hadn't slept well these past few days.
The consequence of lack of sleep is that his temper is also irritable: "Did you get stabbed in the silkworm room? You speak harshly and sneak into the eunuchs. I really can't tell who is the real eunuch and who is the fake one. Or are they all real eunuchs?"
Because Tao Yan repeatedly acted like a jerk, Shen Tang now felt sick subconsciously when he heard his voice, and looked away without waiting for him to refute.
The more she ignored him, the more angry Tao Yan became. He went back to discuss things with his wife, and an idea came to his mind.
"Tao Shenyu is a villain, humph, a dog will never change its eating habits." When Gu Chi thought that the death of his grandfather and father was related to this villain, he felt sorry for the two elders. He was the first to discover the problem, and he made a prompt decision to order the arrest of the people and send them to Chen Tang.
Chen Tang looked at the two shivering soldiers below.
The soldiers' uniforms were their own.
"Shao Xuan, what's going on?"
Bai Su, who was named, stepped forward, clasped his fists, and replied, "My lord, these two are spreading rumors in the camp and shaking the morale of the troops!"
Shen Tang was still confused.
Her military leadership was not successful but it was not a failure either.
Now that she hadn't lost the battle, why did her soldiers want to stab her in the back? After some interrogation, Shen Tang finally understood the whole story and sneered.
This matter is not complicated.
Tao Yan and Chen Tang had a very bad relationship, but with so many soldiers from the two families, it was inevitable that they would have some contact. The two soldiers in front of them had received some benefits from the soldiers under Tao Yan's command, and they also heard that Chen Tang was kind enough to embezzle the military pay for the army and use it all to help the elderly and the weak. If it was only a part of it, it would be fine, but the army had less than half a month's worth of food left, which was a big problem.
The two soldiers didn't believe it at first.
But they couldn't withstand the opponent's financial offensive.
If you have received benefits from others, you naturally have to do things for them. It is not a big problem to just spread a rumor privately to let everyone know that the military pay has been misappropriated. Moreover, if more people know about it and spread it, they will not be able to be traced.
That's what they thought, hoping for luck.
The more Chen Tang listened, the gloomier his expression became.
It was also the first time for the two soldiers to see Chen Tang so closely. They felt the chill and pressure from him and were vaguely afraid. At the head, Chen Tang asked expressionlessly, "Do you know how much harm this rumor will cause once it spreads?"
The least severe consequence is the shaking of morale.
In serious cases, it may even cause a mutiny!
The two soldiers shrugged and shook their heads.
To them, it's just a topic of conversation.
How serious can a topic just for killing time be
"Then do you know that this is betrayal? According to military law, the lightest punishment is beheading?" Chen Tang's voice suddenly rose, and she grabbed something at hand and threw it in front of them. She was so angry that she wanted to kill Tao Yan regardless of the consequences. "You are courting death!"
Don’t they know that this is wrong
I knew it, but I did it anyway.
"Shao Xuan, I'll leave it to you. Kill them all."
"only!"
The two soldiers begged for mercy in panic, but Bai Su crushed their jaws with one hand, her eyes grim and she said, "Drag them out!"
After the tent was quiet, Chen Tang rubbed his nose tiredly: "Wang Chao, this time you found it in time... I didn't expect that Tao Shenyu, this bastard, would bite people so painfully. Even if it's not for you, I will kill his whole family, from top to bottom. A family should be reunited and complete!"
Gu Chi advised: "Please calm down, my lord."
Chen Tang waved his hand: "Don't worry, I'm not angry, and I haven't lost my mind. On the contrary, I'm very clear-headed now, clearer than ever before. Why would I be angry with a beast? This jumping insect is just jumping around now."
Gu Chi: “…”
She even said she wasn't angry, and even mentioned that she had killed the entire family from top to bottom. You have to know that among those evil villains in Longwu County, she only killed the bandit leader and spared the women and children.