Chapter 678

After Xu Zengyi took Qian Fugui's memorial, he fell into a long silence.

Chen Wuji raised his cup, laughed and said: "Sir, you also seem to be in a difficult position."

"Indeed it's difficult; this memorial from the former general let me see many things that seem familiar." Xu Zengyi took a sip of wine, put down his wine bowl, adjusted his robe sleeves, and sat upright solemnly.

"Yu Ren must have people from the Left Dao Sect assisting him nearby, possibly also a brilliant strategist. They didn't just start plotting this in the past few months; at least they've been doing it for a year or two."

"Because of grain?" Chen Wuji happily ate the roasted goose, getting oil all over his hands.

The flavor of this roasted goose is truly superb; eating it left him with endless aftertaste, and for the first time he felt that this thing shouldn't be eaten too quickly, that one should chew slowly and savor it, otherwise it would be a waste of heavenly bounty.

Chen Wuji has eaten too many good things across his two lifetimes; he is picky but not greedy, and this situation truly is the first time it has happened in both his lives.

A bite of roasted goose with two sips of wine truly gives a feeling that not even a deity would trade for.

Xu Zengyi nodded, "Songzhou is not wealthy; they couldn't possibly have that much grain, yet they openly supplied the whole prefecture's populace. Yu Ren must have prepared early, stockpiling enough grain in advance."

"Moreover, this person stayed beside Lu Ping'an at the time, and Lu Ping'an also harbored great ambitions, heavily stockpiling grain and forage, so it was impossible for him to be too blatant."

"Therefore, the time he made these preparations would only be earlier; I suspect it was several years ago, or perhaps... Yu Ren already had these ambitions when he took office as Prefect of Songzhou, after all, neither grain nor talisman scrolls can be prepared in such quantity on a whim."

Chen Wuji sucked his fingers, savored the satisfaction, then lifted his wine bowl with two fingers and clinked it with Xu Zengyi's, saying: "I thought the matter of Nan Jun was settled, that there would be no more turmoil, but unexpectedly from the side came this venerable figure draped in divine light—Cheng Yaojin."

"Indeed, in this age of great turmoil, no one can be underestimated; underestimating others comes at a cost."

"Yu Ren long ago prepared grain and talisman scrolls, having calculated all of this; there's no reason he wouldn't have calculated military strength as well. If nothing unexpected happens, Songzhou should still have a force of elite troops and strong commanders."

"I just don't know when this Bīngmǎ will act. He is now inciting the populace to disgust me—first as a Shìhòu, second to wear me down, third perhaps to have the pretense of covering up ears and eyes; we must guard against Qian Fugui's caution and avoid being overturned in the plot."

"Your lord's deduction is not bad." Xu Zengyi nodded with a somewhat solemn expression.

"Yu Ren has already proclaimed himself emperor; his ambitions are not small, he certainly won't be satisfied with just Songzhou, so raising troops is inevitably a matter of time, just depending on when he chooses to act. To counter his methods isn't difficult either; we only need your lord to spend some silver, and the present troubles will be readily resolved."

"Can silver buy influence in this war?" Chen Wuji asked strangely.

Xu Zengyi smiled mysteriously, "Of course it can—just throw money!"

Chen Wuji understood Xu Zengyi's meaning, "It actually seems feasible; then let's scatter it—this amount of wealth, compared to the consequences of Yu Ren ruining my reputation, is hardly anything."

"However, merely using money to open the way seems not enough; treating the surface but not the interior, the internal problems also need to be properly addressed. I don't know if Songzhou has recently experienced any special occurrences? Plague... Yu Ren uses talisman scrolls to treat the people's plagues, so it's likely Songzhou has recently had a small-scale outbreak."

Xu Zengyi's eyes narrowed slightly, "Your lord means rumors?"

"If he can boast himself as some Divine King, then I can also say he's a Ghost King. A Ghost King seeks to become emperor in the mortal realm, transforming ordinary land into a Ghost Swamp; thus he reveals his methods, using piles of white bones as fodder, and using talisman scrolls as a guide, to draw in human qi, confuse people's minds, and honor him as supreme." Chen Wuji said offhand.

Having read many novels, such little stories are completely off the cuff.

Xu Zengyi stared blankly, "Your lord's story sounds truly good; although just a few words, it already draws people in. However, the populace of Songzhou at this time are all bewitched by Yu Ren, so they probably find it hard to believe this explanation."

"Just add a bit more to make it easy for them to believe—for example, the grain they eat is all transformed from ancestors' bones, and moreover from the direct lineage of ancestors whose bloodline source exceeds eighty years; only then can one easily bewitch their minds. To discern this is actually simple: look at whether your family's ancestral grave has problems, and after eating the state-distributed grain, see if you feel dizzy, bloated, or gassy." Chen Wuji said offhand.

Fabricating stories, the more details, the truer they seem.

"Your lord's story sounds increasingly true." Xu Zengyi said, "Even if there are no other problems, ancestral graves over eighty years old will inevitably have a few rat holes."

"But why dizziness, bloating, and gas?"

He didn't think much about that.

Chen Wuji laughed, "These past years, the livelihood of Nan Jun's populace has been rough—basically wild grasses and unhulled grains, food very coarse, and often alternating between hunger and fullness; I imagine Songzhou's people were similar before."

"Suddenly eating a few good meals, their intestines and stomachs can't adapt to this change, so bloating and gas are inevitable. As for dizziness, just add it casually; as long as the populace feels it's like that, it's fine. Alternating hunger and fullness, I'd guess most of the populace already have a tendency toward dizziness."

"Sir, have you noticed that when new recruits first enter the camp, many suffer diarrhea, and after walking a few steps their flatulence comes like rapid-fire cannon?"

"Ah, I see; your lord's observation is truly meticulous." Xu Zengyi remarked emotionally.

He felt quite ashamed, not really noticing these small matters.

Chen Wuji waved his oily left hand, "Sir, haven't you forgotten? I am still half a disciple of Zhang Lao, studying medicine. These matters aren't that complicated."

Xu Zengyi nodded, "Your lord, this plan is entirely feasible."

"Using money to open the way, then dispatching personnel in disguise to infiltrate Songzhou, employing Ghost King rumors to undermine its foundation. With these two-pronged preparations, taking Songzhou won't be overly difficult." Xu Zengyi said.

"Although Yu Ren has managed Songzhou for many years, after all Songzhou is just a tiny speck of land, with limited population, and moreover it lies beside Qingzhou, so Yu Ren couldn't be so blatant, and his strength wouldn't be great either."

Chen Wuji nodded, agreeing with Xu Zengyi's view.

"Other than that, there's no problem; but should we steady things by sending another Bīngmǎ to support Qian Fugui, just in case?" Chen Wuji frowned, saying, "Yu Ren's high-profile proclamation as emperor contrasts starkly with Songzhou being a tiny speck of land—it's really too great a difference."

"Looking at his methods, he doesn't seem like someone who would dare to become emperor just by casually gathering a few dozen people."