Chapter 143 Silver

Li Chengang told Xu Wenshan everything he knew. Yun Chang was the only daughter of the Marquis of Yun in the State of Cai. Since the Marquis had no other heirs, Yun Chang had been doted on by the entire marquis estate since childhood, which fostered her arrogant and willful personality. Running away alone this time was clearly another one of the young lady's sudden whims. However, her actions were well within the Marquis's control; had there not been a Venerable stationed here to guarantee her safety with absolute certainty, the Marquis of Yun would never have let her leave so easily.

After listening to Li Chengang's account, Xu Wenshan fell into deep thought. He believed the matter was not that simple.

Although this world had not yet given rise to rigid rituals and moral codes, and the taboos between men and women were not so severe, leaving an unmarried young lady out in the world alone was still quite absurd, even with a Venerable overseeing her.

"Who is responsible for meeting and coordinating with you at your destination? Whose jurisdiction is it? And who is in command of the troops?" Xu Wenshan asked.

Since the most crucial details had already been divulged, Li Chengang simply told him everything: "The troops are commanded by General Wei Xianyong, Lord Wei, but the person who takes over from me is the Heir of the State Duke, who manages all the finances and provisions."

Xu Wenshan nodded. That made sense.

After that, he did not ask Li Chengang any more questions, simply instructing the soldiers to take good care of him while he recovered from his injuries.

As the sun sank low, the Luhegu expedition finally returned to the Wuli Village garrison. Far from being nervous, the villagers by the roadside warmly welcomed this group of "bandits" as they entered the village, which greatly astonished the soldiers of Cai. Li Chengang saw this in his eyes and felt it in his heart: the enemy has won the hearts of the people to this extent—it is clear that our State of Cai's footing is extremely unstable!

After tidying up internal affairs at the base (which mainly consisted of having a meal), Xu Wenshan mechanically brainwashed the soldiers, repeating the same speech he had given countless times: how they were all sons of working farmers, how they did not bully the impoverished and poor, and how everyone would be given a string of cash for traveling expenses.

Most of the soldiers were overjoyed. What could be happier in this world than going home unharmed after serving as a soldier? Being able to bring some money back home from military service was simply the ultimate bliss in the mortal world.

With the work of pacifying and dispersing the captives completed, the sun finally set completely, the moon rose, and the entire Luhegu base returned to tranquility. Those assigned to keep watch did so, and those on patrol walked their routes. Aside from the crackling sounds of the bonfire burning in the courtyard, everything reverted to stillness.

Xu Wenshan sat alone in the room, a huge map spread across the table. This room had been borrowed from a local villager and set aside exclusively as his command post. Normally, the minor leaders would come to this room for military council meetings. Over the past few days, whenever he went out on missions, he had carefully observed the surrounding environment, and the final result was the map on the table. This latest mission had allowed him to add a few more strokes to it.

Just as Xu Wenshan was deep in thought, Pang Xing, that fat man, ran over to find Xu Wenshan with a smiling face, rubbing his hands together and saying, "The war spoils have been counted since we got back, but the captured goods still haven't been fully tallied. We've acquired so much silver this time—how much will our brothers get a share of?"

Pang Xing's contribution this time was plain for all to see—make no mistake, it wasn't because of his superb martial arts or fierce valor in battle, but because he played an immensely huge role in persuading the enemy to surrender. His voice had been loud yet soft, his rhetoric extremely seductive, and he had shouted with the utmost effort.

Xu Wenshan asked, "How much do you think you deserve?"

Pang Xing smiled and said, "This batch of military pay is a portion issued to the frontline tripartite armies. Although the higher-ups have already skimmed a portion off the top, what's left, if distributed to each of us, will be more than enough for us to live in carefree luxury for the rest of our lives."

"You want to live in carefree luxury after pocketing the military pay of the Cai frontline troops? I'm afraid you'll spend your next life living in constant dread and anxiety."

Upon hearing Xu Wenshan's words, Pang Xing instantly reined in his smile and asked, "Then what should we do?"

Xu Wenshan said nothing. Instead, Liang Dong walked in. Xu Wenshan beckoned to him, handed him a letter, and asked, "Are you confident?"

Liang Dong nodded and said, "Absolute confidence."

Xu Wenshan said with satisfaction, "Go."

As Liang Dong headed out the door, he exchanged a glance with Pang Xing. Pang Xing's eyes were filled with sheer disbelief: Who would have thought that you, Liang Dong, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, would also betray the State of Cai!

Pang Xing fell into deep, profound self-reflection: As a surrendered general, he had always regarded Liang Dong, a fellow turncoat, as his imagined rival. In terms of work enthusiasm and ideological awareness, he had always been completely ahead of Liang Dong. He had been the fastest to infiltrate Xu Wenshan's ranks, win Xu Wenshan's trust, and get on good terms with Xu Wenshan's subordinates. But how was it that, judging by the current state of affairs, Liang Dong had stolen a march on him?

This shouldn't be! It really shouldn't be like this! There must be some areas where he hadn't done well enough! Pang Xing beat his chest and stamped his feet inwardly.

After dismissing Liang Dong, Xu Wenshan said to Pang Xing, "This batch of silver can only truly reflect its value if it isn't spent."

Pang Xing was puzzled.

"This batch of military pay was levied domestically by the State of Cai. Without this silver, their military morale will be unstable; if they forcefully levy another batch of silver, the people's morale will be unstable," Xu Wenshan said. "The Duke of Cai now needs to make a choice: does he want military morale, or does he want the people's morale?"

Pang Xing said, "Military affairs are urgent, so he'd definitely want military morale!"

Xu Wenshan nodded and said, "That's right. As long as the Duke of Cai is in his right mind, he will definitely choose military morale. But that assumes this batch of silver cannot be recovered."

Pang Xing muttered, "What if the silver can be recovered..."

"Then they will face another choice: whether to negotiate terms with me, or not? If the Duke of Cai is rational, he will definitely negotiate with me," Xu Wenshan smiled. "Therefore, this batch of silver is my 'silver standard'. As long as I don't spend it, the Duke of Cai will have to negotiate terms with me."

Pang Xing said reluctantly, "Does that mean we simply have to give up this batch of silver?"

"Give it up? How is that possible!" Xu Wenshan said. "I took such a huge risk and went through all this trouble to get this batch of silver over here—how could I just hand it over to him when he asks? Handing it over is out of the question, but I still have to negotiate terms."

Pang Xing was baffled: "The Duke of Cai is probably not going to allow..."

"And that is precisely why I sent Liang Dong out."

"Where on earth is Liang Dong going?" A gleam of hope flashed in the fat man's eyes; he felt this was a golden opportunity to scout the progress of his imagined rival.

"To the frontline," Xu Wenshan said. "To find Wei Xianyong."

The fat man was so frightened he fell backward onto the ground: "Wei... Lord Wei..."

Xu Wenshan looked the fat man up and down: "What, do you know your Commander-in-Chief?"

Pang Xing wiped away a sweat: "The Commander commands three armies—how could a small fry like me ever get to see him? ...Besides, Lord Wei is majestic and awe-inspiring. If Liang Dong goes to him to extort a ransom on the spot, I'm afraid it might be a bit difficult..."

Actually, Pang Xing was understating it. Wei Xianyong was an unyielding man who would rather break than bend. Forget about it being difficult—there was a very high chance he would execute both the messenger and the letter.

Xu Wenshan said, "That's why Liang Dong needs someone to cooperate with him."

"Who?"

"Why, you of course!"