Chapter 206: with translation of chapter title

【Fall, Rebellion】

【Imperial Envoy, Killed】

Just eight simple words.

But no matter which word, its weight is enough to be heavy——

Where did it fall?

Who rebelled?

The Imperial Envoy has long not arrived; perhaps he was killed on the road by rebels?

Du Shanü reached out to stroke that hastily written placard; the more she stroked the characters on it, the darker her face became.

Her fingertip moved upward along the placard, tracing mountains and rivers, finally stopping on the city half-blurred by blood, and she asked:

"What is this city's name? Who is the person in charge?"

This is a matter of great importance.

No one dares to be negligent.

Chen Weifang immediately said:

"I'll go to the storehouse to look for the map; perhaps I can have a look."

To be honest, although he is usually adept at governmental affairs, if one says he has photographic memory, he still lacks some practice.

But coincidentally, if one speaks of photographic memory, there is someone right beside him. It's just unknown whether that person is willing——

"Tancheng, backed by Qingxiu Mountain, is an important agricultural hub producing grain and vegetables, supplying the entirety of Yongzhou's interior."

Chinu gazed at a red spot on the map, his brows also unfurrowed:

"If I recall correctly, of Yongzhou Prefecture, this city has the best location, the finest soil, and in past years its harvest was the greatest, with the most surplus."

"Taxes are of two kinds: money tax and grain tax. In past years, when other cities lacked grain, they often secretly purchased from this city, then transported it to the province and the Imperial Court."

"As for the person in charge......"

Du Shanü listened attentively, the earlier annoyance on her face having long dissipated.

On the contrary, because Chinu spoke much and could hit the point, there was a faint pride hidden between his brows......

She is lovable.

She is exactly lovable.

Otherwise, she would not be proud of him.

Otherwise, the two would not stay up all night, entangled without end.

Chinu saw his Wife Master's expression, his brows suddenly relaxed; he seemed offhand, walking toward Du Shanü while speaking...

Du Shanü seemed to sense something; her hand moved even faster than her thought—before she could react, her hand instinctively wrapped around his waist, rubbing his familiar abs several times:

"Good slave-slave, why don't you continue speaking? Who is the person in charge?"

Afang, watching Chinu being rubbed, said: "?"

Chinu, who had been strangely rubbed several times, said: "...... hum."

Du Shanü: "......"

All right, all right, now it's ruined.

Ruined, ruined, now it's good.

They were just arguing a moment ago!

How could she be so handsy, insisting on touching someone else?

Isn't this just giving them a conversation starter?

However, this also can't really be blamed on her.

If one must blame, it's only because the husband she chose is too outstanding, his appearance extremely beautiful; even when arguing, seeing that face makes all due and undue anger vanish.

Garlicked, garlicked.

She's already the Wife Master, just coax the Chinu slave!

Du Shanü's fingertip lightly stroked that exceptionally natural, smooth waistline, and she unconsciously softened her tone:

"Why won't you answer?"

Chinu's brows and eyes flowed, he gave a soft hum, and stepped closer, letting her do as she pleased:

"...... Who is the person in charge? I'm not entirely sure either."

"When I memorized the world map at sixteen, the magistrate of Tancheng was Chen Qingzhi, aged eighty-six; eight years have passed, and this matter is also entangled with the fall, rebellion, and finances, so it likely has little to do with this magistrate Chen."

It's not that I have great faith in this magistrate's character, nor that old age precludes rebellion......

But no matter how you think about it, it simply doesn't hold up.

Magistrate Chen was eighty-six eight years ago; who knows if he's even still breathing now!

Even if he still breathes, what decisions can a man in his nineties make? If he rebels, how many years can he enjoy? By then, who will get the hot potato he's sitting on?

Aren't all these things problems?

Chinu grunted repeatedly; at first glance he seemed ill-tempered and hard to get along with.

But these sounds falling into Du Shanü's ears were like a civet cat's breath, scratching at the heart.

She pondered briefly, then looked at Chen Weifang, who shook his head repeatedly, indicating that everything should follow Chinu:

"Nowadays, land surveying is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also wastes public funds and wealth; being able to produce a new map in ten or twenty years is already not bad."

"I can go to the storehouse now to look, but what I find should be roughly the same as what Chinu remembers."

Furthermore, if one wants to know the current situation, just looking at the map is not enough.

Either find someone who experienced Tancheng firsthand to inquire, or wait for scouts to report.

But each of those also has its own difficulties.

This place is a hundred li from the zhoufu; on horseback it takes a full half day, and if relying only on foot, it might take two or three days to get there.

Dun Cheng and Tancheng are separated by a zhoufu, as well as a river and two mountains; the map doesn't show it, but in reality it's even farther.

If it truly is a calamity of falling under enemy control, and also related to rebellion, with the populace implicated, surely no one would have the guts to deliberately run toward the zhoufu, let alone toward Dun Cheng, which is even farther than the zhoufu and whose situation is unclear.

This news will surely spread by word of mouth thereafter, but who knows how long it will take—at least ten days and half a month, at most over a month.

The scout......

The scout—didn't they go out and not come back!

Du Shanü was also truly puzzled, and she said strangely:

"Yu Baobao's four-table cousin is named 'Lüe', and his speech is also so brief."

Du Shanü could understand that when he went out on business, he might have encountered something, and by chance learned of the disaster at Tancheng, which is why he hastily sent the message.

But she couldn't understand why he didn't write a few more characters.

At the very least, write down who is rebelling!

Who exactly is it? Who is rebelling?!

Du Shanü felt vexed to the point of anxiety, pondered for a few breaths, and then said:

"Afang, you write in my stead, send a letter to Cang Cheng, have Ouyang Yan return to the old residence once, and have him take stock of the militia and weapons we keep at home."

According to Du Shanü's original plan, indeed we must first protect Yu Baobao.

But if someone in Tancheng is now rebelling, then everything is completely different.

The southern lands have a hundred thousand great mountains; the entire Yongzhou prefecture is outstanding among them, abundant in water and mountains; without a map, traveling dozens of li of mountain roads for over a month is no problem.

And in terms of geographical layout, the arrangement of several key cities happens to be along——

【Cang Cheng—Dun Cheng—Yongzhou prefecture—Tancheng】

They are almost in a straight line.

Cang Cheng is surrounded by mountains on three sides, backed by the entire mountain range, almost at the end.

In other words, if one day someone wants to attack Cang Cheng, they must first take Dun Cheng......

And if at this moment we continue to hide our clumsiness, keeping those assassin's maces continually hidden in Cang Cheng.

If we keep hiding and hiding, until someone takes an interest in Dun Cheng, then we might truly be clumsy.

Du Shanü couldn't help laughing at the thought of that scene, but she quickly stopped:

"However, as I see it, since there is already rebellion, the situation will only become more chaotic from now on; we cannot rule out that someone will cross mountains and ridges, raise an army, and attack Cang Cheng."

"When you send the letter, remember to have him keep a portion for himself. If anything changes, be sure to protect the townspeople well......"

Du Shanü hesitated slightly, and then said this in front of Chinu:

"And, Yu Baobao."