The rolling river water looked bloody and scarlet with a stench of death. In a blink of an eye, it attracted the people on the shore and the fishermen living here. Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi glanced at each other and stepped back silently, watching the reaction of the villagers.
Many corpses that were about to be decaying also floated down from the upper reaches of the river full of bloody water. There were not only soldiers wearing armors among the floating corpses but also many innocent civilians. Some of them had their hands and feet cut off, while some even had their heads cut off for some unknown reasons. Various mutilated bodies and discrete limbs floated aimlessly in the water, which looked terrifying.
The villagers immediately talked about it, and some people left quickly to find someone to take a closer look.
The lame man Zhang stood in the front, “D*mn it. What’s going on? The water is like this now. I’m afraid there will be no fish for three to four months.”
The old village head took a look at the lame man Zhang and squinted his eyes, “You only care about the fish but don’t care what is going on in the upper reaches. If what General Leng said was true that the military camps of Prince Ray were in the upper reaches, I should gather the village heads of the surrounding villages to talk with Prince Ray then.”
“Will it work?” Leng Changxi threw a wet blanket on his plan ruthlessly. “If he was really scared, how could he have thrown the corpses in the water so blatantly? Besides, there are so many innocent civilians in it.”
The old village head frowned and said nothing, and people around him started an intense discussion. Gossip was a fearful thing, so this matter could not withstand any delay.
Just when the old village head was frowning and had a hard time making up his mind, a villager wearing thatch shoes running from the entrance of the village rolled several times on the ground and ran directly to the village head from the hillside.
“Sir, something is wrong! People outside our village came to recruit soldiers, saying that all the strong men in the village between 16 and 40 must be enlisted.”
Must? It was not recruiting soldiers but forcing civilians!
Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi looked at each other, and Qin Yunuan took the initiative to ask, “Who sent them here to recruit soldiers?”
The short man who reported the news shook his head and spat hard, saying, “Who else it can be? We are Qi people, so West Xia will not believe us and come to recruit soldiers in Qi! It’s just the people of Prince Ray!”
The reporter did not know the identities of Qin Yunuan and Leng Changxi, so he spoke without hesitation. The old village head just nodded, and then asked, “When is the deadline?”
The young man who reported the news tilted his head, “Three days later.” Then he sighed earnestly, “Uncle, I think Prince Ray breaks in in full fury this time. I’m afraid it will be impossible for us to escape. I heard that some village was unwilling to hand over the strong men stubbornly, so then all the villagers were slaughtered, and their corpses were directly mutilated and thrown into Sui River. They didn’t get a tomb. It’s just the village which had silk business with our village in the upper reaches.”
The young man said and looked towards the river. When he saw the red river water and corpses, he suddenly felt sick and wanted to vent something inexplicably.
So those who did not want to join the army would have the same fate with the corpses.
It was almost a shock. Everyone couldn’t help feeling scared. Sima Ray really had no bottom line at this time.
Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan looked at the reactions of the people but did not say anything. Leng Changxi said to the village head with joined hands, “Today I came here with my wife just to explore the terrain. After all, the soldiers of West Xia can’t swim. We only hope to find the narrowest place of Sui River which can help us cross Sui River and overturn Sima Ray, who deceives the world and put the emperor under house arrest. We are really sorry, but we don’t intend to offend you.” After finishing speaking, Leng Changxi glanced at the corpses in the river sadly again, “I’m sorry for what will happen next. I still have something to do in the camp, so we’d like to leave now.”
Leng Changxi held Qin Yunuan’s hand, leaving silently. They could not help comforting an old woman who had just learned that her only grandson was about to be drafted on the way. Watching what Leng Changxi and Qin Yunuan did, the old village head couldn’t help feeling moved.
After leaving the fishing village, Leng Wu had already prepared a carriage and a hand-warming incense burner outside. Leng Wu looked into the distance and asked, “Heiying and others risked their lives to blow up the pit of dead people in Sima Ray’s camp. General, why don’t you take the opportunity to encourage the fishermen to rebel and submit to us? Why you make up a fake draft order? If they took it seriously and came to Sima Ray’s camp, wouldn’t it be a near miss for us then?”
Leng Changxi got into the carriage without saying a word, but there was a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. He stretched out his hand and took Qin Yunuan to the carriage. When Leng Wu got on the horse and started to drive the carriage, Leng Changxi handed the warming incense burner to Qin Yunuan, and slowly said, “If I persuaded them now, I would get only a group of fishermen with fear and awe. If I allowed them to think carefully for three days, plus the plan afterwards, I would get a group of transport fleets willing to work for me and knowing the difference between right and wrong. These two results are completely different.”
It was necessary to have effective tools to do good work, and at the same time, it was very important to get people’s support. Leng Changxi knew how to score at this time.
At the same time, in Sima Ray’s camp along the river.
Several soldiers came to report one by one that the blasted gap of the dead people pit was too big to be blocked for a while, so many corpses would flow out with the current.
Then someone came to report that a soldier of West Xia who came for a sneak attack was caught, who refused to say anything and had bitten his tongue to commit suicide.
“Get out, you good-for-nothing.” Sima Ray kicked people’s chests every time he lost his temper, which made many soldiers feel frightened. “How dare you say you’ve caught him since he is the dead! Good-for-nothing! All of you are good-for-nothing! Check it out for me now! This time Leng Changxi acted weirdly. Why he blew up the dead people pit? Besides, after the corpses flow downstream, the civilians will see them. They made a scene last time when we recruited soldiers, and if those ignorant fishermen made a scene this time again, I am afraid we would not be able to stay by Sui River any longer.”
As Sima Ray was talking, he suddenly paused and seemed to be muttering to himself, “So, this is Leng Changxi’s purpose?”
Just before the others reacted, Sima Ray pulled the collar of a signaller beside him and asked, “When will Yu Haitang arrive?”
“I…”
“Didn’t he say that he set off from the Royal City half a month ago? Why hasn’t he arrived yet?” Sima Ray punched the table hard with a muffled noise.
Just at this moment, there was a noise from outside with the screams of some small beast just like a monkey.
When Sima Ray was surprised, suddenly, a little black monkey with white hairs on its cheeks and a black-and-white tail jumped into the room. The little monkey was still a cub that was only a little bigger than a person’s fist when it curled up, while it was extremely agile. And it was easy to recognize that it was a young lion-faced monkey.
Sima Ray was stunned as he watched the monkey climbing in his study. He knew this little monkey, which was Yu Haitang’s favorite pet. No one dared to bully this little monkey at will. Yu Haitang was already very old, and it was not convenient for him to do things by himself, so he just relied on the help of this little monkey, which was the darling of him.
It was good news which showed that Yu Haitang had arrived.
Sure enough, someone then reported outside that Yu Haitang had already arrived at the camp gate but did not enter even if the gate was open. He just sat proudly in a wheelchair and did not move, and his attendants were not allowed to enter the camp as well for no reason.
Sima Ray frowned. It was clear that he was waiting for him to go out to welcome him!
It was true that Yu Haitang was very good at governing a country and keeping health, and he was a very famous person unlike Qiu Murong, Xu Ji or Baili Ai. As for Qiu Murong, Xu Ji or Baili Ai, Sima Ray was their superior, and they were the subordinates or the talents who were recognized by Sima Ray. While as for Yu Haitang, Sima Ray was just a pawn of him.
Sima Ray cooperated with Yu Haitang while fighting a battle of wits and courage with him to prevent himself from being used, and instead, he wanted to use Yu Haitang.
In Leng Changxi’s view, such a cooperative relationship was destined to be short-lived. The moment Sima Ray walked to the camp gate and put on a cold face when he saw Yu Haitang, it proved that Leng Changxi’s words made sense.
“Sooner or later, I will get rid of this old widower’s control.” Sima Ray made an oath in front of the camp gate, then put on an extremely respectful appearance and walked to Yu Haitang with joined hands.
Yu Haitang looked very old. But compared with Baili Ai who also appeared as a rickety old man, he looked more detached as a sage. There was a sudden rush of fierce air in his eyes. Although he could no longer walk, he could move freely with the self-made wheelchair. Yu Haitang raised his bright eyes, and then the little monkey rushed over and nestled in his arms quietly.
In addition to Sima Ray, Baili Ai also came to greet Yu Haitang. He just changed the plaster for Xu Ji, who was already paralyzed, and then hurried over.
“Mr. Yu.” Feeling that Yu Haitang was looking at him, Baili Ai also saluted Yu Haitang humbly.
Yu Haitang just glanced at him and said coldly, “It is indeed a good way to use the knowledge of pharmacology to delay the spread of the toxins accumulated in the body, but are you really reconciled to that a man under thirty looks the same as a man of ninety?”
