Chapter 921: Qian Fugui Fell Into a Pit

After joking with Xu Zengyi for a couple of sentences, Chen Wuji took a few sips of the hot tea Xu Zengyi had just brewed, ordered someone to bring a few slices of ginger, and threw them into the cup.

He actually didn't really like this taste.

But in such scorching weather, it's a good season for health preservation; even if it's not to his taste, he should drink a couple of sips, as a slight respect for the knowledge he once learned.

"My lord, drinking tea is drinking tea, eating ginger is eating ginger; why mix the two? With this flavor, can you really accept it?" Xu Zengyi couldn't help but ask upon seeing this.

Chen Wuji scoffed and shook his head, "As it turns out, there are things even you, sir, don't understand; that puts my mind at ease."

"Could it be that you're not doing this out of laziness, my lord?" Xu Zengyi mercilessly exposed Chen Wuji's stubbornness.

Chen Wuji huffed arrogantly, turned his head and said, "Sir, let's talk about something serious? Forget it, let's not discuss it today; we'll talk tomorrow. I see you're so calm, there probably isn't any major issue; let me rest a bit, I'm exhausted."

Xu Zengyi opened his mouth, then silently swallowed the words that had risen to his throat, gave a helpless chuckle, and said, "Actually, there really isn't any major issue. Qian Fuguì's campaign in Guiling Xian has been going smoothly; he's captured many people, not far fewer than the number you, my lord, brought this time—it's just that they all have some problems."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wuji's head started to ache, "Because of A Furong?"

"Yes."

Chen Wuji let out a long sigh to the heavens, "I really don't want to hear this; I'm tired, utterly exhausted."

He truly didn't want to hear anything related to official business today; he just wanted to relax properly.

After wandering in the mountains for over two months, he felt as if both body and soul had been emptied; he urgently needed two days to rest properly and adjust himself.

As a result, an offhand remark inadvertently brought up the very thing he least wanted to hear at this moment, the most annoying matter. The three words "A Furong," when they reached his ears now, were more exhausting than battle and extremely bothersome.

"Wait, you just said the number of captives is about the same as the force I brought this time?" Chen Wuji suddenly realized what Xu Zengyi had said, "Does Guiling Xian really have that many people?"

"Yes, this is all thanks to our old rival. If nothing unexpected happens, Yan Zhou should be the Snake Staff Elder's stronghold, or one of them." Xu Zengyi said, "Qian Fuguì has already sent over thirty thousand captives back and forth; the war is still ongoing and not yet finished."

"I've already finished my fighting, yet he hasn't finished?!" Chen Wuji exclaimed in astonishment.

While in the mountains, unless there is urgent military intelligence, nothing is basically sent to the front lines.

Chen Wuji didn't know how Qian Fuguì's side was faring in battle.

Conveying military intelligence from that place is truly extremely difficult.

If one doesn't follow the supply convoy into the mountains, the envoy would probably not even be able to find the markers along the way.

During these over two months, external documents and military intelligence, aside from a single batch sent when they first entered the mountains, have thereafter not delivered a single sheet to Chen Wuji's presence.

"It's been over two months—what is Qian Fuguì up to? Has this old fellow been slacking lately? It's just one county plus the area opened up to Xinglin Zhen; it's not that complicated, is it?" Chen Wuji frowned and asked.

Xu Zengyi smiled and said, "The place is indeed small and not very complicated; the problem lies with these people—they are too hidden, too scattered, and their numbers are huge."

"This really can't be blamed on Qian Fuguì; based on the intelligence his men sent, I've analyzed it thoroughly. Two and a half months isn't much time; perhaps another month will be needed to approach the end."

Chen Wuji questioned doubtfully, "Is it really that difficult?"

"Indeed it is." Xu Zengyi said.

"Let me explain in detail to my lord; then you'll understand exactly where the difficulty lies in this battle. I call the Snake Staff Elder's set of tactics the 'rat tactic'—hard to fight and also disgusting."

Chen Wuji nodded, took two sips of tea, and tightened the corners of his mouth.

Drinking this tea is purely a waste of tea leaves.

Perhaps we should really take a leaf from Xu Zengyi's suggestion.

"The Snake Staff Elder left many personnel in Guiling Xian, and they are also very scattered." Xu Zengyi said.

"On the surface, Guiling Xian appears normal—just more manors, more wealthy people, and those wealthy people have more tenants; each household numbers in the hundreds or thousands."

"Moreover, there are more mountain bandits; wherever the terrain is rugged, almost every peak has bandits, ranging from a couple thousand to five or six thousand people."

Now it was Chen Wuji's turn to be surprised, "Are all these people left behind by the Snake Staff Elder?"

"Yes, Qian Fuguì met the man called the carter; these scattered forces are all under his command. The entire Guiling Xian, from the Xianya down to those manors, consists entirely of the Snake Staff Elder's people." Xu Zengyi said, "Perhaps there were once some not belonging to the Snake Staff Elder, but under such overwhelming circumstances, these people likely have no room to survive."

"When Qian Fuguì first reported, he was still puzzled there, saying he hadn't found anyone connected to A Furong, and the commoners' grain seemed normal. It wasn't until he led his troops into Guiling Xian County City and began reforms according to my Nan Jun's methods that the problem began to surface."

"Qian Fuguì suffered a loss due to carelessness this time; early on he lost some personnel."

Upon hearing this, Chen Wuji's face instantly turned somewhat unpleasant, "How many were lost?"

"Several dozen people." Xu Zengyi said.

"Qian Fuguì initially hadn't discovered any trace of A Furong, nor any sign of enemy troops or bandits, so he relaxed his vigilance and, following our custom, began to undertake reforms."

"This matter, actually, can't be blamed on Qian Fuguì either; I've looked over his reports and found no fault. Given the circumstances at the time, I might have done the same. Qian Fuguì investigated very thoroughly; his only doubt then was why this place had so many wealthy people, with manors everywhere."

"With no gain from military intelligence, Qian Fuguì spent a few more days observing in Guiling Xian, then began sending elite troops accompanied by Xianya personnel to negotiate with those clan magnates."

Chen Wuji asked, "Are these the people causing the problem?"

"Yes." Xu Zengyi nodded.

"Qian Fuguì was also somewhat cautious; at first he didn't spread himself too thin, merely sending a few dozen people to two manors near Guiling Xian County City. The result? Those people… didn't make it back."

"Afterward, the heads of those two manors brought Xianya personnel and several dozen head trophies to apologize to Qian Fuguì, claiming that our soldiers' harsh tone provoked the troublemakers, leading to their deaths; they killed the perpetrators and brought them back to apologize to Qian Fuguì, and promised him they would accept any conditions he might set."

At this point Chen Wuji also pondered the matter, "Did Qian Fuguì believe them?"

"He believed them." Xu Zengyi fell silent for a moment, then continued, "But at this stage I still think Qian Fuguì's only shortcoming is a lack of caution; he isn't really at major fault. Those people were overly frank and also very straightforward."

"Although they killed our troops, they also carried out the reforms as ordered."