Chapter 22: Make full use of everything, got it?

Du Shanü does not fail to understand the principle of "fight while retreating."

But she also knows another principle—

""Today cede five cities, tomorrow ten, then gain one night's peace; rise and look to the four borders, and Qin troops arrive again.""

Cangnan is already the southernmost place!

Yu Baobao drifted from the north to the south, now she has met Chinu; if she still has to run, where can she go?

Head south to Yi Province?

Go west out of Jade Gate?

If even the last trace of hot-blooded courage in one's heart must be discarded, then even if one reaches the barbarian lands, far from home, would one necessarily find peace?

Flee today, and tomorrow you can definitely not flee?!

Moreover, why must it be them who flee, and not someone else?!

Are they destined to always be inferior to others?!!!

Unacceptable!

She, Du Shanü, refuses to accept it!

Du Shanü slowly brushed off the dust on the crossbow mechanism and spoke softly:

"If they come to kill us, then we'll kill them."

"If I were the emperor, I would have sworn, as the Son of Heaven, to guard the city gate and share the nation's fate!"

"Now, the past cannot be chased. Since the Young Emperor has fled here, with my protection, in my view we absolutely cannot retreat again."

Human affairs, matters of a lifetime.

A desperate effort is death; ten years of back-and-forth is also death.

Rather than wait to die, to die for the country—how could that not be acceptable?

She studied grand principles, studied dull engineering—wasn't it precisely so that one day she could have something useful to do, a day worth risking her life for?

What a fine Yin Dynasty—barbarian iron hooves have crossed the pass, dividing the Nine Provinces north and south, and the false court has rashly increased taxes...

Isn't this already the time?

Now, if she can protect the exiled Young Emperor, why should she still cherish her own life?

Du Shanü folded the wings of the crossbow mechanism, reassembled it into a forearm-sized square object, neatly slipped it into her waistband, looked up, and saw that A Chou and Leitie beside her were staring at her in utter astonishment.

Du Shanü, not understanding why, asked:

"What's wrong?"

A Chou's lips, covered in scars, trembled; the scars on his face grew more hideous, and a glimmer of moisture flickered in his eyes.

But in the end, he still said nothing.

Leitie's astonishment was simpler; he wondered:

"What Young Emperor?"

A Chou suddenly lifted his head; Du Shanü startled, then slowly fished out the crossbow mechanism...

Leitie looked in terror at the two before him, dragging his not-yet-healed leg backward, his smooth muscles trembling all over:

"Don't, don't, don't—let's talk nicely, talk nicely——!!!"

"What Young Emperor"—Leitie felt he shouldn't be privy to such information.

Yet he could see before him A Chou, who had obviously been feigning stupidity, and Du Niangzi holding something dozens of times more powerful than a bow and arrow...

He was scared.

This time he was truly scared.

Earlier thoughts of himself as a blacksmith who could earn a living with his skill and receive favor wherever he went had long vanished.

Leitie's mind now holds only one thought—

He must absolutely not kill to silence witnesses!!!

Seeing the person before him dragging his sturdy body while nearly letting his head droop to the ground, Du Shanü also laughed.

She tapped Leitie's shoulder lightly with the crossbow mechanism, eliciting a shudder:

"Keep your mouth shut like a bottle, understand?"

Leitie was about to pat his chest in agreement and immediately dart into the smithy shed:

"Understood! Definitely! Definitely!!!"

"I'll go right now to keep making arrows; I'll immediately supply them for you, old sir... no, I'll immediately supply them for Du Niangzi."

"Tsk."

Otherwise, how could weapons determine the volume of sound?

This time the unreasonable and overbearing blacksmith Leitie actually showed tact, but Du Shanü, for some reason, felt this title was not pleasant to hear.

This thought flashed through her mind, and Du Shanü paid it no heed, only asking A Chou again:

"I asked you to draw a map—how did it turn out?"

A Chou immediately handed over the map obediently; Du Shanü unfolded it while casually saying:

"You drew these—did Yu Baobao question you in detail?"

This was just an offhand remark, but unexpectedly, on A Chou's still‑startled face appeared a hint of strangeness, and he whispered:

"The master is still asleep......"

Du Shanü: "......"

All right, she was talking too much.

After these two days of getting along, she had also picked up a bit of Yu Baobao's daily routine.

Each day she sleeps until the sun is high three poles, rises without causing trouble or mischief, merely tilting her head to count money, then walks a few laps, basks in the sun, and afterwards yawns and curls up to sleep...

He was clearly cherished by his parents, placed deep in their hearts, never having tasted any bitterness or fatigue.

No wonder earlier it would be Chinu who stood in for the dynasty......

It can only be said that it's not surprising, completely not surprising.

Du Shanü remained silent, but A Chou, as if having made some decision, took the map from Du Shanü's hand and added several names——

The Nine Provinces Continent, leaping onto the paper.

In those years of poor communication, obtaining information was extremely difficult.

Du Shanü previously knew her location was far south, but never imagined it would be this difficult.

Looking at it this way......

This position, in the short term, need not worry about foreign tribes at all, only need to worry about the False Dynasty.

After all, if foreign tribes could reach this position, the entire Nine Provinces Continent would fall into their hands, leaving nothing to worry about; it would be more comfortable to simply commit suicide on the spot.

Du Shanü looked over it again, carefully noting several key directions, then spoke again:

"I know Ashina and Yuan Lang; they are respectively the emperors of the Northern Dynasty and Southern Dynasty."

"But who are the other two names you just added?"

Du Shanü's fingertip wandered over the hemp paper, then paused.

"One is Zhu Xuan, the other is...... He Lian Bo Bo?"

A Chou explained earnestly:

"The former is the elder brother of the Grand Ancestor, living in seclusion in the mountains near Lofty Peace; when the Grand Ancestor passed away, someone wanted to promote the Deposed Crown Prince Zhu Xuan to the throne, but Chinu stopped him. Although this person lacks lingering prestige, he has the advantage of being of legitimate lineage."

"The latter is the adopted son of Ashina, a fierce general who marched south and conquered half of the Yin Dynasty's territory. It is said he achieved fame at a young age, being granted the title of 'unsealable' at sixteen."

"I recorded information about these two while my mind was still clear; perhaps it will be of some help to you."

Du Shanü fell silent, then silent again, finally realizing belatedly that something felt off——

"Wasn't she just a village maiden a few days ago?"

"How did A Chou suddenly seem intent on imparting so much to her?"

A Chou wouldn't be......

Du Shanü pondered for a few breaths, then spoke:

"You don't think this Commander's Crossbow can repel the foreign tribes, do you?"

A Chou startled, the original blazing light in his eyes also paused, then he stammered:

"Why not?"

"He had clearly examined it closely; that, that 'Commander's Crossbow' has tremendous power, sinking three inches into the ground!"

"If they had such weapons before, perhaps the Yin Dynasty wouldn't have......"

"Impossible."

Du Shanü slowly closed the hemp paper and tucked it into her bosom:

"Since you've already seen the Commander's Crossbow's effect, you should know how much effort and how much iron a single crossbow requires."

"I previously bought back so many farming tools, removed all the iron and smelted it, and only managed to make a crossbow about the size of an arm, with a range under a hundred steps; if one wanted to make a battlefield crossbow capable of killing enemies, it would necessarily need improvement......"

The Commander's Crossbow must not only be large, but also numerous, and have long range.

Moreover, the invisible maintenance and repair are also quite a headache.

How wealthy a purse and how strong logistical support would this require?

Never mind that she is merely a peasant; even the current Southern Dynasty Emperor could not conjure that much money, iron, and artisans out of thin air!

More crucially, to expel the foreign tribes—these four words in her ears are almost synonymous with restoring the nation!

Others only see the uprising recorded in the histories, the rallying cries, unaware that in the unrecorded corners of those histories lie the white bones of countless unfinished endeavors!

She wanted to use the Commander's Crossbow to protect the Young Emperor, so why is A Chou pushing her to go fight the foreign tribes?!

Du Shanü was startled.

A Chou wept.

He sobbed, preparing to leave, but Du Shanü turned him around and shoved him into the ironsmith shed:

"If you really want to cry, don't waste it! Come, stand here and add some tears to the ironware—this is called quenching with brine......."

A Chou wept even more sorrowfully.

Du Shanü, on the other hand, finally felt refreshed; she casually picked up a few crossbow bolts to test their power elsewhere, but had barely stepped out when she saw a familiar figure returning.

Du Shanü let out a cry and called out:

"Has Liu Shusheng returned?"