Chapter 828

Generally, those who rely on their own abilities to manage to get the position of prefect in the officialdom are not many fools.

Although this statement isn't absolute, that kind of fool, perhaps only one or two can be picked out of a hundred prefects.

Hu Bu Gui obviously cannot be counted among those people.

Chen Wuji held some reservations in his trust toward Hu Bu Gui; although he didn't say it outright, Hu Bu Gui surely knew it in his heart.

The matter arranged for him originally lay at the edge of Nan Jun's power; if at this time we directly take over the place he has conquered, although this is currently a very common practice in Nan Jun, Chen Wuji still worries that Hu Bu Gui might bear a grudge, causing a change in the newly conquered territory of Shendu.

Compared to when he was in Dingzhou, the Bīngmǎ Hu Bu Gui now holds are like swapping a bird gun for a cannon—no longer comparable.

If it weren't for the pressure of the Court's great army about to move south, Chen Wuji would certainly not actively break his own rules, but now this critical juncture is not good.

Chen Wuji dares not gamble on any possible risk.

Not long ago, while resting in Xishan Village, he happened to seriously consider this problem. Regarding his rapid development over the past year, aside from those objective factors, his consistent caution and prudence is a great advantage.

"My lord, changing orders morning and evening is not the bearing of a ruler!" Xu Zengyi shook his head very solemnly, his expression even carrying a few points of gravity, "I know my lord has always been somewhat wary of General Hu; he indeed should be wary. A leader who repeatedly emphasizes Da Yu in major discussions while overlooking my lord's commanders ought to be wary."

"But this is absolutely not a reason for my lord to abandon the established strategy to placate his emotions. The strategy my lord personally set, and we have all seen its significant effects; it cannot be lightly changed because of one person—this is a major taboo."

Chen Wuji opened his mouth; actually he didn't really want to accept this premise of being a person's lord, but……

It seems there's no need to deny it so strongly anymore.

Aside from his current strong denial, everyone else seems to have already tacitly accepted it.

"What I'm considering is the Court's great army about to move south." Chen Wuji said in a low voice.

"If it weren't for this big trouble, I wouldn't change the established strategy because of Hu Bu Gui; what you just said, Mr., I can understand and agree with, but……"

The conversation turned, and Chen Wuji's expression grew several points more solemn: "Even if the Court's 400,000-strong army is merely a rabble, we would likely find it hard to win easily, after all, the numerical advantage lies there."

"Once this great trouble appears in Nan Jun, all the relations we currently maintain will likely be overturned. We've already discussed this before, you and I; what Yang Yu will do is unclear, his loyalty to the Court seems limited to lip service, but Hu Bu Gui is truly loyal to the Court."

Xu Zengyi didn't speak, merely pacing in place.

Chen Wuyi walked in, carefully and slowly hanging the map on the wall.

In this era, a precise and comprehensive map is an absolute treasure.

To say its worth is equivalent to a city is not an exaggeration.

Chen Wuji glanced at Xu Zengyi, not disturbing his thought, walked to the map, found the location of Sanjiang Valley, and his pupils instantly dilated.

"Holy shit!"

A beautiful phrase slipped out.

"In my impression, Sanjiang Valley is in the north of Shendu; how did it directly cross to the central region? Did Hu Bu Gui conquer half of Shendu's territory in two months?!" Chen Wuji was truly shocked.

He had long known of this place, Sanjiang Valley.

It is said that it was once the confluence of three rivers; who knows how many years ago, this river suddenly changed its course, and one of the rivers that had converged there became a valley.

"Old Xu, come here, take a look—could this map be drawn wrong?" Chen Wuji waved his hand, he urgently needed to verify this.

If the map really depicts it like this, Hu Bu Gui's achievement this time is simply awesome, his military exploits are more terrifying than the Southwest Chu Wang's.

Xu Zengyi walked over slowly, "Where is it wrong?"

Chen Wuji heavily pointed at Sanjiang Valley.

"No mistake, Sanjiang Valley is right here. This river valley is very broad; when I was young I still walked through it, the valley was full of good farmland. General Hu's criticism is not wrong at all; the Shiva People are practically a bunch of losers, they've left most of the good farmland in the valley barren." Xu Zengyi said.

"This country is very strange; they'd rather steal, rob, sell themselves, or beg than sweat on the land—that farmland… honestly, it's really great."

Chen Wuji raised his hand to stop Xu Zengyi's condemnation of the Shiva People, "Mr. Xu, what we should be more concerned about now is the land Hu Bu Gui has conquered—is it half of Shendu's territory, or the larger half?"

Xu Zengyi gave Chen Wuji a strange look, "My lord, Shendu has few cities; more than half of the Seven Cities region is definitely that, you just mentioned Sanjiang Valley and I already knew."

"Oh, I understand my lord's meaning now; General Hu's battle was indeed splendid! In two months he captured half a city of Shendu, achieving with the forces of a single commandery what the Court could not."

Chen Wuji suddenly fell silent.

After a while, he slowly said, "Old Xu, I feel as if I'm dreaming—do we really have this much strength? Leaving aside Yang Tiejiang's campaigns in Qiang Land, the Army of Righteousness is only a force of ten thousand; fighting in foreign lands, in two months they captured seven cities, killed over ten thousand enemies, captured over forty thousand, and seized half of Shendu's territory—sigh… how could this sound so unreal?"

Earlier, he had calculated seven cities based on Da Yu's city density; that achievement was already terribly frightening.

Now adding the four words "half the territory", Chen Wuji would have to hesitate a bit before boasting like this.

"General Hu must have divided his forces," Xu Zengyi said, "If he hadn't divided his forces, merely marching across such vast land would not even take two months."

"But dividing forces isn't the main reason for achieving such results, is it?" Chen Wuji asked.

Xu Zengyi's answer was somewhat too hasty.

"Of course not." Xu Zengyi chuckled.

"Actually, our army should now be strong. The various units have experienced countless battles big and small over the past year, hardly resting a few days. Such intensive combat has forged the soldiers' will, so their combat power naturally cannot be compared to those who have not undergone the baptism of war."

"Most importantly, it's the army's morale. Under the incentive of my lord's military merit rank system, our soldiers are eager for battle; this is something ordinary troops cannot compare to."

"Strong morale, tenacious combat power, plus over 70% armored and about 80% archers and crossbowmen, truly deserves the word 'strong'!"