[{"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-64":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},2364333,4623,"Chapter 64: Throwing Corpses Into the River","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-64",64,"\u003Cp>One mistake might be coincidence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A series of mistakes, however, is hard to explain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially when the culprit behind the tragedy had left the camp ahead of time, further fueling suspicion.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“General Huang, this Captain Zhou claims to be a smuggler from Shandong, yet he speaks without a Shandong accent—his initial defection to us was already suspicious.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he presented the head of County Magistrate Liu as a token of loyalty, and that blinded everyone, so we never thoroughly checked his identity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now it seems clear: this man is almost certainly an impostor from the Embroidered Uniform Guard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His goal was to infiltrate our camp and deliberately cause chaos!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Guangtai forced himself to analyze despite his physical discomfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet when these words reached Huang Renlong’s ears, they took on a different meaning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you suspected him, why didn’t you say so sooner?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Who wouldn’t be fooled by a county magistrate’s head as a token of loyalty?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, they knew each other already, and had secretly conducted several salt-smuggling deals together—they were old acquaintances.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was even he who gave Zhou the nickname “Zhou the Skinflint.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Had I known Zhou was trouble, I’d have cut his throat long ago—why would I ever play some “buying bones to attract a dragon” trick?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now look: we didn’t attract any talent, only brought back a pile of corpses.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Soon, Huang Renlong realized: no matter whether Captain Zhou was truly an Embroidered Uniform Guard spy, he must now be treated as one.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Being tricked by the court is better than admitting my own misjudgment in personnel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wang the Pockmarked, spread the word on the roads: I’m offering ten thousand taels for Zhou the Skinflint’s head!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as Huang Renlong spoke, Zong Guangtai was left speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As commander of the rebel army, commanding tens of thousands of troops, he still clung so tightly to bandit ways.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But these were minor matters; after losing the cannons, the rebel army’s siege firepower had plummeted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To trade fire with the defenders’ cannons using trebuchets, the rebels would suffer heavily.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When firepower is insufficient on the battlefield, you must fill the gap with lives.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“General, our losses are too great if we keep attacking like this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Withdraw our elite troops and use the captives we’ve rounded up to drain the defenders’ ammunition.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only after filling the moat should we launch the main assault.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Guangtai spoke to himself.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He paid no attention to how dark Huang Renlong’s face had turned when he said “commoners.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the rebel army, except for a few gentry, ninety-nine percent were the very “commoners” he despised.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, he was a nobleman looking down from above—no one dared object when he spoke like that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now the situation had reversed: all were rebels, none were nobler than the others.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To speak this way now was outright provocation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’ll follow your advice, sir!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Renlong forced down his resentment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now was not the time to break ties; though the Zong family had gradually lost its dominance in the uprising, its influence remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The reason so many rebels had gathered was largely due to the Zong family’s leadership.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without the Zong family’s support, a salt smuggler like me—who had always lived in the shadows—would be unknown to all!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To shed my old skin and transform, I must make my name known.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taizhou’s influence is too weak; I must seize a major city like Yangzhou to establish sufficient prestige among the rebels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The more I need to do so, the more I cannot do without the Zong family’s support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This Zong gentleman is no top strategist, but he is the strongest I can reach.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Along the way, I’ve gathered many scholars, but each one only knows how to quote Confucius and Laozi.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Full of sage teachings, yet when action is needed, they all fall silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s not that they lack talent—they simply have never encountered rebellion, such an advanced art.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dragon-slaying techniques” are not for just anyone to touch.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Great clans keep secret records, but in times of peace, who dares let their sons study them?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zong Guangtai, with his half-baked knowledge, only learned these things on the fly after raising his banner.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just look at the siege: the rebels are still in the exploratory phase.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Battalion Commander, there’s been an explosion in the rebel camp—their cannons have gone silent!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this good news, Li Mu immediately set down his bowl and chopsticks and rushed to the city gate tower.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The surprise came too suddenly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rebels’ cannons had not threatened the defenders because they had used them incorrectly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As defenders, with the rebels lacking armor, explosive shells would inflict maximum damage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But siege warfare is different: solid shot must be used to strike precise targets to threaten the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Presumably provoked, the rebels outside had not treated their cannons as siege weapons, but instead engaged in artillery duels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You can’t keep stepping in the same pit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few days of dueling, once the enemy realized their mistake, the defenders’ pressure would rise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yangzhou’s walls are indeed sturdy, but they were built two hundred years ago, and since then, only maintained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With peace having lasted so long, local officials had not taken wall maintenance seriously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Externally, they appeared unchanged; their true defensive strength remained untested.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Through his telescope, Li Mu was startled by the sight of the rebel artillery position.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Catastrophic losses” could not describe it—the enemy’s artillery position had been completely wiped out.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This could not have been done by our own artillery!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if every shell had hit its target, it could not have caused such devastation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Lan, send someone to report the victory to the Provincial Military Commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Say our soldiers fought bloody battles, killed over a thousand enemy troops, and destroyed the enemy’s artillery position!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu spoke without changing expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What exactly happened in the rebel camp didn’t need investigation—the outcome was good.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Da Yu valued cannons far less than later eras; destroying an enemy artillery position was no great feat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But for defense, the magnitude of the merit didn't matter—it was crucial to have a victory report to calm the people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My lord, perhaps we should polish the victory report.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If the Commander asks, our subordinates will have a better answer.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lan Linjie suggested hesitantly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Falsifying battle reports was nothing new.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially in siege warfare, how many enemies were killed was entirely up to frontline commanders.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As long as the city held, and the reported numbers weren’t absurdly exaggerated, the court would turn a blind eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“No polishing. Report exactly as I said—not a single word added!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Li Mu shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There were too many witnesses; it couldn’t be hidden.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If I take all the credit directly, the other officers will resent it—someone might go to report me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Vagueness, however, is utterly bulletproof.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If no one knows who did it, when the court verifies the merits, the credit will still fall to me as the defending commander.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the two spoke, the rebels drove villagers forward as cannon fodder, launching a human wave assault.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Carts of dirt were continuously dumped into the moat, steadily narrowing its surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Stop wasting time collecting corpses—throw the bodies straight into the river! Hurry to fill the riverbed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even this pace of filling the moat failed to satisfy the rebel commanders, who issued the cruel order: “Throw corpses into the river!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The worst were the wounded: still alive, yet rendered immobile, they were thrown into the river anyway.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The captured villagers dared not protest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1257,"2026-06-21T08:09:02.410Z",1,"Qwen3.5 397B","eff566749d05a368a30b42e8ee4cfcefd0fab416a0f31007dc6f86b63b3dc7b2","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-65","restoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-chapter-63",391,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Frestoring-the-mountains-and-rivers-cover.jpg"]