Chapter 665: How's the Xuan?

I originally just wanted to make a little profit by clearing out inventory, but now it looks like we really have to support the Eastern Xianbei. Or… not necessarily; if the cold wave comes from the north, the Xiongnu might not last until the new Chanyu unifies the steppes.

When Wei Shen heard this, he objected, 'Can the Shuofang and Shanggu passes really not stop the Xiongnu? Just sending fifty thousand troops to Hanshou and Jingzhou is already giving them face; the rest can easily be redeployed to the northern frontier.'

Xie Yuan began reporting the numbers: 'The Great Chu rebels in Hanshou conservatively number over 250,000; Jing region has also been expanding, conservatively near 200,000. Guangling keeps a low profile but still has about 100,000, not counting other vague forces. Mobilizing only fifty thousand cavalry would leave us stretched thin.'

Wei Shen: ……

The Great King snorted, 'Is nobody fighting anymore? We lack the strength to support multiple fronts. The latest situation is that we still haven't gathered enough supplies for fifty thousand cavalry.'

The hall fell silent.

The Taotie Tower in the south of the city has been emptied, and twenty thousand cavalry have been redeployed to Mount Heng. You know the treasury's situation better than I do; our only hope is overseas purchases.

His paternal cousin bluntly asked, 'Where's the money?'

The Great King lifted his chin toward the direction of the silver mine and said, 'We're waiting to dig it up~'

Several old men: ……

Zhang Sinong wasn't there, and no one was shouting 'I'm incompetent' anymore, but we still need to generate revenue and make some money!

But after all that talk, the most urgent task remains surviving the cold wave. Everyone quickly dispersed to attend to their own affairs. We must quickly preserve our current population and property, or we'll become even poorer…

Soon only the Great King and Wei Shen remained in the Lan Tai Hall, the two of them gathered around the sand table guessing which direction the cold current would come from, studying whether the entanglement between the Xiongnu and the Tufa Xianbei would change because of the major cold wave.

I don't know how big this cold wave is; if it freezes large numbers of livestock on the steppes, the Xiongnu might not even bother with the Xianbei, and they can't eat Xianbei people……

Maybe they'll head south early?

What if they invade east instead? I've heard that Goguryeo and Buyeo are also good for farming, and farther north it's still black soil—rice grown there tastes even better.

……Where did you hear all this?

It's written in the books.

As the two were talking, they heard the door of the neighboring hall being pounded with a bang-bang sound. The guards on duty didn't react, so it's easy to guess who's pounding the door.

After Zhao Bao went over and personally opened the hall door, the bear came in carrying its dedicated food bowl, placed it with a thud at the Great King's feet.

Woof~ Don't you love me anymore? I was taken out for a run all day, and it's already midnight but you still haven't given me any food!

The Great King: ……

Today there's been a lot going on, and the Great King forgot dinner!

Since he returned to Youzhou, Winnie has always eaten with him, but today his exercise overload even canceled dinner, and the bear's resentment is huge.

The Great King is the type who never feels guilty; he acted as if nothing had happened, 'Is Winnie hungry? Then let's go eat—come along, cousin. After we eat, we'll head back to rest; tomorrow we still have a tough battle to fight.'

Winnie didn't leave but sat down right there, spreading its paw for the Great King to see. A clover flower sat on its plump paw; the Great King, absentminded, didn't think much and asked, 'What does this mean? Eat clover? Stir-fry tender clover?'

Wei Shen was speechless, 'Stop pretending to be stupid, it's obviously asking for honeycomb honey! You've left it hungry this long—you ought to give some compensation.' Hearing the three words 'honeycomb honey,' Winnie sprang up, eyes blazing, staring at Wei Shen—'You really understand bears!'

The Great King exclaimed, 'Has this creature's intelligence gone up a notch?' Low-grade monster cores are this useful? He can't wait to come up with new tasks, grind for rewards, pull the lever—if only a medium- or high-grade one would drop!

The Great King dragged Winnie's paw back, forcing the bear to walk upright beside him, and the two of them plus the bear returned to Suiyu Hall. After eating the belated dinner, Wei Shen also left; the Great King wanted to go check whether Baiyang was at the homestead, but before leaving he walked around the room, wondering what he'd forgotten.

Does the room feel a bit empty?

Oh no, where's Xiao Jin?!