[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers":3,"chapter-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-338":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Restoring the Mountains and Rivers",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2364607,4623,"Chapter 338: Rumors Spread Everywhere","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-338",338,"\u003Cp>The situation across the land has changed; the layout in Guanzhong must accelerate its progress.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We lack roots there and can only rely on local anti-Yu forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whatever the rebel army lacks, provide it to them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At all costs, throw Guanzhong into chaos!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Hao said with a serious expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plotting for Guanzhong is a long-term strategy; his immediate goal remains seizing Shu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To carve out Shu, one must first take Hanzhong—this is the wisdom passed down by our ancestors.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The southeastern rebels have suffered setbacks, and the situation is precarious; he must hasten his pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once Wu and Chu fall, the court’s strategic focus will shift to Shu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your Highness, rest assured—I will handle this personally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within half a year, I will stir up an anti-Yu uprising across Guanzhong!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xu Yanyu immediately pledged.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since the rebels entered Shu, Shaanxi has strengthened its defenses of Hanzhong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unless Guanzhong is in chaos, seizing Hanzhong is nearly impossible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without Hanzhong, carving out Shu is a joke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beneath Wuchang, the charge horns sounded once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Weijiarui could no longer recall how many times they had attacked; the earth had long been dyed red.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The corpses of fallen soldiers filled one boat after another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The brutal war had numbed Wang Weijiarui.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To him, soldier deaths were merely cold statistics.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In chaotic times, human lives were the cheapest thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When soldiers died, recruit more from the populace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For victory, he would pay any price.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your Highness, night has fallen; it is time to sound the retreat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Kecheng gently reminded him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under the policy of relentless assault, many units assigned to siege duty began the day fully manned and ended it half-depleted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if personnel losses were swiftly replaced, the damage to morale was irreversible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No matter what kind of unit, once dragged onto the battlefield for a single engagement, it was effectively ruined.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Restoring their fighting spirit could not be achieved merely by replacing men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first to be lost were naturally the peripheral armed forces.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Past sources of instability had been largely consumed in the great battles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This use of others’ blades to kill enemies was flawless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this was not what Wang Weijiarui wanted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Eliminating rivals offered plenty of opportunities; there was no need to sacrifice so many troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Issue orders: sound the retreat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Tell logistics to distribute extra alcohol and meat to soothe the troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Weijiarui spoke with a complex expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, the war had left him with no retreat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Either fight hard and win the Battle of Wuchang—or lose and return as a bandit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After stirring up such a storm, wherever he went next, the court would hunt him down with full force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Countless men waited to use his head to advance their careers.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Your servant, at your command!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Kecheng replied without hesitation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from soothing morale, there was little they could do now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The imperial lines appeared on the verge of collapse, yet no matter how hard they attacked, they could not break through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To see hope, then lose it—that was the cruelest thing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inside Wuchang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The scent of roasting meat drifted from the rebel camps, stimulating the taste buds of the defenders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu, patrolling the defenses, sensed something amiss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Logically, after the war had stalled, the rebels’ logistics should have faltered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Occasional improvements in rations—like stewed meat—were understandable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But to do this day after day? Even wealthy Jiangxi could not supply so many livestock.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Issue orders: prepare food rations to supplement the defenders’ meals.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With suspicion, Li Mu gave the command.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The city had meat reserves, but not pork, beef, or mutton—the staple was fish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And even this fish was salted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Supplying fresh meat was only possible in a post-industrial age.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With current preservation technology, the cost of keeping meat fresh far exceeded the meat’s value.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without pork, beef, or mutton, the imperial logistics still surpassed the rebels’.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The garrison farms grew cash crops, and the plant oils and sugar extracted were all sold to the imperial army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>During wartime, a daily ration of one tael of oil per man—37.3 grams—was more than sufficient to satisfy everyone in this era.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the rebels had eaten meat for days, it only stirred hunger, not yet shaken morale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aye!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wu Dagé immediately sent men to relay the order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Uncle, the rebels’ logistics are suspicious—they cannot possibly have this much meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The chance to break their morale has arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Inform those families—it’s time for them to act!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in the command tent, Li Mu immediately told Li Yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the imperial forces gained the upper hand, more families were willing to pay for their lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the price of failed opportunism.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But paying money alone was not enough—they must sever ties with the rebels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Are you suggesting the rebels are eating people?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuan asked with a grave expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In chaotic times, cannibalism was not unheard of.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But it was always rare; large-scale cannibalism occurred mainly during the Wei-Jin and Five Dynasties periods.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In modern times, with the spread of Confucian culture, the practice had been banned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Yu legal code explicitly stated: those who eat people shall die!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hundreds of thousands of soldiers eating people—such moral collapse in reality was too horrifying to believe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Aside from this explanation, there is no plausible source for the rebels’ meat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the rebel Wang had requisitioned every livestock in Jiangxi and Zhejiang, it could not sustain such waste.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Likely, some within the rebel camp have already sensed something is wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If we leak this news, chaos will erupt within their ranks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With our inside agents stirring things further, even if full-scale mutiny doesn’t occur, enemy morale will be shaken.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If all goes well, we will break them within days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As he spoke, Li Mu’s eyes glinted with cold light.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After years in the military, this was the first time he wanted to kill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had seen many acts of tyranny, but never one so blatantly crossing the line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If not crushed with thunderous force, countless others would follow.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Good—I’ll arrange it immediately!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Yuan nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Challenging the line was intolerable not just to Li Mu, but to him as well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Their eyes met; each understood the other’s intent—they would kill without mercy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All participants must be executed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The remaining rebel soldiers must be tightly guarded after the battle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rebel camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Young Master Qi, this is a letter from home.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Kecheng took the secret letter from his attendant and opened it in front of the two maids.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As expected, it was filled with nothing but daily pleasantries.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Go prepare some hot water—I’m going to bathe.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After dismissing his spies, Fang Kecheng spilled tea onto the letter, revealing a row of tiny characters on its back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After reading the letter, he hesitated not at all, and immediately held it to a candle to burn.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having completed the cover-up, Fang Kecheng quickly regained his composure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serving in Chu was not an accident—it was all arranged by his family behind the scenes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Betting on multiple sides—that’s the standard tactic of great clans.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The name and identity he now uses are entirely forged; the real Fang Kecheng died long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to the scripted plan, he will live out his life as Fang Kecheng.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if a new dynasty rises, he must never reclaim his true identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After establishing merit and power, he will use his authority to secretly protect his family.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In return, his relatives within the clan will receive focused cultivation and support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the faction he has joined loses the chaos for supremacy, his family will not be implicated.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet all of this was shattered the moment the letter arrived.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The clan’s covert actions have been discovered by the court; now they demand he sever ties with the rebels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, it was Fang Kecheng who joined the treason—nothing to do with me, Yang Mou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Theoretically, once he completes this mission, he can resume his former identity and return to his old life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this is only theoretical.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In Chu, he is the powerful Minister of War, his word deciding the life or death of countless others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in his clan, he is merely a destitute scholar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Perhaps the elders, remembering his service, will reward him with some land or wealth afterward—but his life will never compare to what he has now.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he’s unlucky, he may die in the rebel armies before even returning to his clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ah!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a sigh, Fang Kecheng made his reluctant decision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that he wished to betray the King of Chu—it was the King himself who courted death.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Military defeat can still be reversed, with a chance at resurgence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Since ancient times, no one has ever seized the realm without hardship.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suffering setbacks along the way is the norm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But once a man’s heart is lost, it can never be regained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To use human flesh as rations—such a dark secret—has now been exposed by the court.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once such a thing comes to light, the label of “Great Demon King” will cling to him forever.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No enlightened soul in the realm will ever join such a disgraced lord.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This is no longer an age of moral decay; from the moment the leak occurred, the King of Chu’s claim to the realm was doomed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Kecheng was not the only one suffering in torment; many high officers in the Chu army were locked in fierce inner struggles.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Weijiarui had treated them with genuine kindness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He humbled himself before scholars, granted them every privilege, and they were deeply satisfied with their status and position in Chu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had no sudden upheaval occurred, they would likely have followed this “enlightened lord” for life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if they failed to seize the realm, they would have fought with glory—no waste of their learning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But reality offers no “what ifs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On one side stood the King of Chu who let them fulfill their ambitions; on the other, their birth clan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now caught between them, whichever choice they made meant betraying one side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Deep night, in the rebel camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have any of you noticed the meat tastes strange these past few days?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s not pork, not mutton, and certainly not beef!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The young man’s words immediately drew everyone’s attention.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had noticed the meat tasted odd too.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Serving in the Chu army was a hard lot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coarse grains barely filled their bellies; meat was out of the question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It wasn’t that the King of Chu was stingy—there were simply too many troops, and domestic animal husbandry was underdeveloped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The limited meat supply went first to the officers above.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These soldiers might get meat only once a month.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When rations improved, they usually got only a bowl of meat broth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang Lao Si, you’ve eaten too much and are just being picky.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If it’s not pork or mutton, you think it’s beef? Like you’ve ever eaten beef.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who cares what kind of meat it is? In these times, having meat at all is the greatest fortune.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“If not for the Prince’s mercy, we wouldn’t even get this!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A companion nearby scolded him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Living at the bottom of the army, long deprived of meat, they were just glad to eat anything—no thought given to what it was.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wang Qi, you can’t say that.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Zhang Lao Si isn’t wrong—the meat really does taste off.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Have you noticed how few of the veteran soldiers are eating?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ve seen them secretly vomiting, like they ate something revolting.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No sooner had the bearded man spoken than the men’s faces turned pale.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They had seen similar scenes before.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At first they hadn’t thought anything of it—but now, with others pointing it out, the unease struck them instantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Besides pork, mutton, and beef, it can’t be horse meat, can it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Those are treasures—no one would dare eat them.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Maybe we should ask Old Liu from next door—he’s old and experienced, he might know…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Qi stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing something was wrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Old Liu, who had always been so lively, had grown silent these past few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once so eager to eat, now he dragged his feet at every meal.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had even mocked Old Liu for eating slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother Wang, the meat these past few days really is strange.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Once I bit into a bone—it looked like a finger. You remember…?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment the thin youth spoke, every face turned deathly white.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cannibalism in famine years was a legend.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These men had grown up in Huguang and Jiangxi—fertile lands where life was relatively good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides farming, they could find work elsewhere; their prospects far exceeded those of people in other regions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in famine years, their situation was better than elsewhere—they’d never reached the point of trading children for food.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After the war broke out, they either joined the rebels willingly or were forced into it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Plundering gentry families kept them fed easily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as they had enough to eat, their moral boundaries held.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To suddenly cross into cannibalism flew in the face of everything they’d been taught.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In an instant, several men grew nauseous and began vomiting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Similar scenes played out again and again throughout the camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rumor of cannibalism spread rapidly, turning the camp into a frenzy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The flood of rumors quickly caught the attention of the rebel commanders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By noon the next day, the news had reached the King of Chu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The King of Chu’s tent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who is spreading rumors in the camp?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Why didn’t you stop them immediately?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Weijiarui asked, his voice lacking conviction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rumors aren’t dangerous—the truth is the sharp blade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Using human flesh as rations was a top-secret military matter, known to only a handful.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, with this chaos, everyone knows the truth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Highness, we tried to debunk the rumors, but it had no effect.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Or should we open the storage depot and let the soldiers go inside to inspect it, to calm their hearts?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fang Kecheng offered a rotten idea without changing expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",2332,"2026-06-21T08:09:04.021Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","792e77d868271c6915160bf9d32b676fa3d76d759147da327b6369064bcec7ad","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-339","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-337",391,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frestoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-cover.jpg"]