Chapter 471

Shi Yi Shu, go yourself! Chen Wuji issued the order with a cold expression.

Those nobles living in Hezhou City all seem to have a common ailment.

Don't they understand who is really in charge of this city now?

When Gu Wenjie arrived, they toyed with him, tried to assert dominance, putting themselves in a lofty position; now that he has come, this bunch still behaves the same way.

From a rational standpoint, Chen Wuji believed they must have some backing, but after thinking it over, he simply couldn't figure out what they could use to threaten him.

Gu Wenjie had already secured the food and materials for making weapons for him, and the armory was nearly full.

Even if he were distributing grain to the whole city, he wouldn't worry about running out of food in the next two or three months; moreover, even if he lacked a little, it wouldn't matter, as he still had supplies from the five counties.

As for manpower, there's even less shortage.

The troops are currently sufficient; he even deliberately recruited a batch of soldiers to revive the city's vitality, giving them a livelihood.

As long as he stabilizes the populace's hearts, there's no need to worry about manpower.

Aside from these, Chen Wuji really couldn't think of what else they could use to restrain him.

Commandant, the stone shopkeeper in Hezhou is the nephew of Lady Stone; I, as a subordinate, think… it would be better not to offend him if possible, for Lu Jinglve dotes on that lady greatly, and he might really launch a campaign against Hezhou over this.

Chen Wuji snorted, "It's fine; he's already sent troops. Why would I attack Hezhou? It's just that surnamed Lu is angry and sent people to attack me."

I already have a deadly feud with him; do I still fear offending him over this? Come, take up the brush and write a letter to Lu Ping'an, cursing his ancestors eighteen generations over—use whatever foul language you can think of, the dirtier the better.

Cheng Zhiheng suddenly felt like giving himself a few big slaps.

This mouth, truly asking for it!

"Commandant, just pure profanity?" Cheng Zhiheng asked nervously.

Caught between Chen Wuji and Lu Ping'an, his little heart was practically pounding, about to jump out of his throat.

But he now stands before Chen Wuji, with no other choice; he must unleash a tirade against Lu Ping'an, and he must do it to the fullest.

Chen Wuji rubbed his chin and said leisurely, "The other day I scolded Gu Wenjie as a little whore, and he immediately lost his composure—this can work. Also, we can say Lu Ping'an is narrow-minded, a good-for-nothing tied to a woman's waistband, and so on."

"That'll do; this direction is fine. If we can think of something harsher in a few days, we'll just send another letter."

Cheng Zhiheng's mouth twitched slightly.

This…… isn't harsh enough?!

Just those three words "little whore" seem to make anyone lose their composure.

Cheng Zhiheng steeled himself, took a blank bamboo slip, and began to compose the wording on the side.

A Chen clan personal guard in tight-fitting attire hurried in and whispered to Chen Wuji's ear: "Family Head, Xiao Zong and the Fifth Lady have arrived, in the side hall."

Chen Wuji nodded, rose from his seat, turned left out the door, and walked into the side hall lacking a signboard.

"Commandant, I did it! I did it! I really did it!"

As Chen Wuji half a foot stepped through the door, he was fiercely embraced by a person reeking of strong stench, with disheveled hair and beard, and tattered clothes.

Chen Wuyi, following closely behind Chen Wuji, instinctively drew his knife, but upon seeing the face of the person hugging Chen Wuji, he hastily stopped, calmly sheathed the blade, and with a solemn expression slowly turned to stand at the doorway.

Chen Wuji also jumped in surprise; he spread the person's arms, pushed aside the messy hair covering the face, and said, "Xiao Family Head, you… haven't been like this for just a few days, have you? How did you suddenly become like this?"

"Commandant, I did it! I did it!" Xiao Zong exclaimed, saliva flying.

Chen Wuji silently wiped his face, "You mean, the paper is done?"

"Done!!!"

A strong smile spread across Chen Wuji's face: "Xiao Family Head, I knew you could do it; this sort of thing might not get done even if given to others for years, only you could manage it."

"How long has it been? Isn't it still less than a month?"

"Almost there!" Xiao Zong turned excitedly, grabbed a thick stack of paper from the box on the floor, and handed it to Chen Wuji: "Commandant, look, the ink doesn't bleed, the characters are clear, it doesn't show through. This single sheet can hold the content of two bamboo slips."

Chen Wuji looked at the thing in his hands, and the corner of his mouth involuntarily curled up.

It really is paper!

Paper that can be written on!

Good heavens, as a proper transmigrator, after all this time he finally managed to produce a decent invention.

Compared to those geniuses who start inventing right after transmigrating, he may be a bit lackluster, but at least he didn't embarrass the transmigrator crowd and regained some face.

"Let me try!" Chen Wuji shouted eagerly, "Go get the brush and ink."

"Here!"

The guard standing at the doorway heard and immediately turned and left.

Moments later, a full set of brush and ink was brought before Chen Wuji.

Xiao Zong was excited like a child, personally grinding the ink while staring at Chen Wuji's writing.

The revelry of the two grown men completely ignored Xiao Yuji, who stood to the side, carefully dressed.

Chen Wuji picked up the brush and, on the first sheet of Da Yu's paper, spontaneously wrote a burst of characters.

Xiao Zong peered over, watching as Chen Wuji wrote and read aloud.

"The great peng rises with the wind in a single day, soaring straight up ninety thousand li; should the wind cease and it descend, it could still stir the waters of the vast abyss. This poem…… is great!"

"Glory is won only on horseback—truly the hero of a man! This poem, this poem, good, good!"

"Ambition devours the barbarians' flesh, laughter discusses drinking the Xiongnu's blood. Wait—starting from scratch, to tidy up the old rivers and mountains, face the heavenly gate…… Commandant, if you don't pause a moment, do we even need to ponder when writing poetry and lyrics?"

Chen Wuji, brush in hand, wrote a burst of characters, turning Xiao Zong's immense joy at creating the paper into shock.

This half poem plus half a lyric, viewed horizontally or vertically, doesn't look like something that could be dashed off with a casual brush.

"What's there to think about? Poetry and lyrics are just petty tricks!" Chen Wuji said, his heart stirred, speaking casually.

Now that he had paper, his confidence instantly multiplied severalfold.

This paper is not only progress of the age, it is creative innovation, and moreover it is his mountain of gold.

An iron pot can be copied, but this thing lacks concrete technology—try to copy it? Dream on!

"Poetry and lyrics? Petty…… just petty tricks?!" Xiao Zong muttered, the light in his pupils ground to glass shards by Chen Wuji's remark—could a person even say such a thing?