The Demon Lords

Chapter 851 188: Pulling Out the Thorn! (Part 2)

You once kowtowed to me,

I protected the lineage of your descendants.

Shatuo Queshi fulfilled his promise.

In life and death, he was a person of heavy promises and trustworthiness.

Liang Cheng opened his mouth, producing a hoarse friction sound from his throat, and his eyes flickered with a green light, like ghostly will-o'-the-wisps.

As if drawn by Liang Cheng, Shatuo Queshi also opened his mouth and began to make a hoarse response.

Shortly thereafter,

Liang Cheng spoke:

"My lord, his consciousness is still very muddled, but we can try asking him some questions."

Zheng Fan nodded and said:

"Ask him what he wants."

One shouldn't always be at peace with accepting another's favor; if possible, Zheng Fan also hoped to do something for him.

Liang Cheng began to inquire of Shatuo Queshi,

After a while,

Liang Cheng replied:

"My lord, he said desert sands, sheep, oasis…"

"Is he saying these things?"

"This is what I inferred his meaning to be."

"Oh."

Zheng Fan sighed and said:

"He's homesick."

The deceased seek to be buried in peace, and what they yearn for is to return their souls home.

This is instinct, the innate impulse of all creatures.

Leaving home young and returning old is a cycle and destiny that people pursue throughout life.

The home of Shatuo Queshi was in the Shatuo tribe, but that tribe has been exterminated.

Yet his homeland lies in the desert.

Zheng Fan felt a tinge of guilt inside,

because due to himself, Shatuo Queshi was brought from the desert to Hutou City, then from Hutou City to Green Willow Fortress, then from Green Willow Fortress to Shengle, and then, farther east, to Snow Sea Pass.

With every move, Zheng Fan rose in rank and wealth, his influence growing; but for Shatuo Queshi, it meant getting farther from his homeland.

"My lord, this is just his very pure desire for now because his consciousness is not yet mature."

"But it is also his truest desire."

Zheng Fan sighed and continued:

"In the future, I will help him rebuild the Shatuo tribe."

Liang Cheng nodded, saying, "That is only right."

At this moment, the blind man walked over.

He didn't really need to announce himself because a slight sweep of mental power could reveal where Zheng Fan was in the manor.

The blind man entered, first noticing Liang Cheng, and couldn't help but curl his lips into a smile.

This time,

it's truly a reversal for the honest man.

The simple-minded and naive Fanli and the cold zombie,

turned out to be the first two to advance.

So indeed, one cannot judge a book by its cover; character settings shouldn't be completely trusted.

"My lord, military intelligence from Jade Plate City has arrived."

Zheng Fan turned around, looked at the blind man, and asked:

"What's the situation?"

"The dowry of the Eldest Prince, which is the Keyan Division, close to thirty thousand tribesmen, has already crossed the Wang River. When the message was sent, they should have been crossing the river, and now that we've received the message, that division should have already crossed and possibly continued advancing east."

"So quickly?"

This ten thousand barbarian cavalry was what Lord Zheng dreamed of day and night.

With these ten thousand cavalry at Snow Sea Pass, whether heading north to the snowfield or showing a presence at Town South Pass in front of the Chu people, everything can be managed with ease.

Unlike now, where all efforts are focused on development, everything seems inadequate.

Building on your own, being self-reliant, is naturally a principle to adhere to, but since you have targets available for looting, not engaging in some bloody acts of primitive accumulation really seems an injustice to yourself.

Meanwhile, after securing these ten thousand barbarian cavalry, although Lord Zheng could not compare to the military prowess under the command of Li Fusheng, the commander of the Northern Army, he could certainly secure a spot in the second tier of Yan's generals.

This excludes titles, focusing only on the number of troops under command.

The Northern Army's six outposts comprise three hundred thousand cavalry, each outpost commanding around fifty thousand cavalry; even after some deductions, there's certainly forty thousand, and Lord Zheng currently only has half of that.

Of course, throughout these years of southern and northern campaigns, the Northern Army has also suffered significant losses, but their new recruit replenishment is fast as well.

Zheng Fan looked at the blind man and said:

"Begin immediate preparations for tents and supplies, ensuring supporting services are up to speed."

The blind man nodded and said: "My lord, there's also a document from the Ministry of Revenue, detailing the cash and grain escort to Snow Sea Pass here in the first half of the year."

As he said this, the blind man smiled and said:

"My lord, it's the full amount."

"Full amount?"

The Yan State's supply of cash and grain to the Jindi garrison has always been only fifty percent, sometimes even less, and the shortfall must be covered by the local commanders through selfsufficiency.

By rights, Snow Sea Pass's strategic position requires multiple support avenues; even getting seventy percent would already be a notable concession.

The full amount means no discounts, all given to you.

Even in later generations, such allocations, upon reaching local hands, often involve skimming; such practices are more common now.

"My lord, and it's not just the full amount; losses en route have also been recompensed. Moreover, the categories of cash and grain as well as all kinds of supplies—if recalculated, exceed the original so-called full amount by more than twenty percent."

The so-called "cash and grain" doesn't simply refer to silver and one type of grain; there are many tricks to manipulate within.

In this aspect, Zheng Fan trusts that the blind man and Siniang are adept, but since the blind man describes this delivery as fully substantial, it indicates that the Ministry of Revenue's escort this time is nearly three times more than the previous existing rules.