Chapter 152

"Settle me before the big battle?" Gu Xixi again caught the key point.

"In other words…… once fighting starts, he himself won't be able to free his hands."

Gu Xixi lowered her head, tore open the pancake, soaked it in the vegetable soup, and said offhandedly, "He's not a civil official, so why would he have to go to the battlefield for war?"

Meng Chengping was startled, his eyes went blank, he stammered, "Right, right, he's a civil official, what does fighting have to do with him!"

Phew! I almost let the truth slip out!

Before Meng Chengping could cheer for his quick thinking, he heard Gu Xixi say softly:

"This probably isn't the general's idea, is it? It's Mu Nan Zhao who won't let you speak?"

After a moment of silence, seeing Meng Chengping like a deflated sack, he lowered his head and resignedly said, "Boss Gu, I don't want to lie to you, so please, could you stop asking?"

His voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, as weak as it could be.

But soon he straightened his chest with righteous confidence, saying, "It concerns military secrets, so of course it cannot be spoken!"

Gu Xixi took a bite of the soup-soaked pancake, nodded, and said, "Then just tell the parts you can."

Meng Chengping was still hesitating.

Actually, aside from the specific personnel arrangements and tactical deployment for implementation, the rest is not confidential.

But…… this brotherly loyalty also cannot be ignored.

He Jinglan let out a cold snort, smiling as she said, "It's all because we've made things too hard for General Meng, but General Meng, rest assured—if it's something we shouldn't know, even if you dared to say it, we wouldn't dare to listen."

Meng Chengping sensed danger, but he gritted his teeth and held firm, saying, "Anyway, no matter how you guess, I won't utter a single word!"

Gu Xixi looked at Meng Chengping for a moment, then relented, saying, "Fine, if you won't speak, then don't."

He Jinglan was surprised, a bit unwilling to let it go, wanting to say more, but Gu Xixi stopped her, saying, "Jing Lan, I admire General Meng's ability to keep his word and his integrity; let's not make things difficult for him."

He Jinglan met Gu Xixi's gaze, startled, then lowered her head and silently nibbled her pancake.

Meng Chengping, meanwhile, felt as if pardoned, exclaiming, "Boss Gu really is a good person, a truly good person!"

After finishing the meal, He Jinglan said she wanted to rest, not wanting any smelly men around.

Meng Chengping, because He Jinglan hadn't completely ignored him, was in a decent mood; he picked up the fellow who had delivered his meal and walked away cheerfully.

He Jinglan looked outside, confirmed the person had left the courtyard, and quickly grabbed Gu Xixi.

"You just gave me a look—have you already figured something out?"

Gu Xixi smiled and praised, "Really sharp!"

She continued, "Whether Mu Nan Zhao will personally go into battle— the answer is simply yes or no; isn't that easy to guess? Just look at General Meng's demeanor and you'll know."

He Jinglan suddenly understood, "You mean Mu Nan Zhao also has to go to war?"

Gu Xixi said, "I'm not an insider; just as General Meng said, I'm merely speculating, and you're just casually listening."

He Jinglan nodded, then nodded again; she was simply too curious.

In the past, the Mu Nan Zhao she knew had excellent martial arts, but hardly anyone knew he practiced martial arts.

Because he said, "The unintelligent exert effort."

And he was very confident in his intellect, having plenty of ways to kill an enemy, so why bother throwing punches?

He Jinglan now felt that this trip to the Northwest hadn't been in vain— she could actually witness the miracle of Mu Nan Zhao personally going onto the battlefield.

She raised her hand and swore, "I, He Jinglan, swear to heaven that today every word Gu Xixi has speculated, I will treat as a story and, after hearing it, will not leak even a single character."

Gu Xixi pondered, "If this battle is won decisively, the pattern of the Northwest border will inevitably change, and the Northwest Army's strength will surely increase greatly."

"Based on my understanding of Mu Nan Zhao, he is not the type to brazenly seek glory or contend for temporary advantage. Like a lone wolf lurking in darkness, if he stays still, he does nothing; but once he moves, he must tear a huge chunk from a vital spot."

"The grand general is already the king of the Northwest; I suspect their aim, besides defending home and country, is to make the general's position unshakable in the short term."

"And since Mu Nan Zhao is both an ally and someone who will directly benefit in the future, he naturally ought to contribute to this."

"Of course, this is also his own will."

Gu Xixi paused, then said, "He wants to return to the imperial court as soon as possible; this principle of seeking wealth and honor through danger, no one weighs it more thoroughly than he does."

After saying those words, the side remained silent, with no reaction.

Gu Xixi thought He Jinglan had fallen asleep, turned her head to look, and met a pair of eyes glittering with tiny stars.

"Xixi! How do you know everything?"

"If the Imperial Court restored the former dynasty's female official system, that would be great— you wouldn't have to farm, you could become an official, and at court you'd certainly not be inferior to those men."

Gu Xixi imagined that scene, her teeth aching as she shook her head, "No."

"I still prefer farming."

As a female official, one would necessarily have to attend early court, and after court disperses, still return to one's department to clock in and handle affairs.

Even having transmigrated, being bound by a nine-to-five schedule makes no sense whichever way you think about it.

Furthermore, if one does well as an official, one can be splendid for a while; but if one does poorly, one may face imprisonment, confiscation, extermination of nine clans, being sold into slavery—a fate worse than death, etc., all randomly selected.

Farming is different— she has the skills in hand, and land and crops never lie; as long as she works hard, drought or flood will still yield a harvest, ensuring peace and stability.

He Jinglan, after hearing this analysis, rested her chin on her hand and said, "But I often hear that officials half a rank above can crush people to death."

"Now thinking about it, what about the common folk?"

"You have no power or influence; anyone with even a bit more authority than you has a chance to oppress you— what can be done?"

Gu Xixi laughed, "I have the Northwest King as my backer— what is there to fear?"

This is a promise from Huo Jiang, and also one of the rewards Gu Xixi received for agreeing to help the Northwest Army reclaim land.

Anyway, the Northwest occupies the largest tract of land within the Da Ye realm, so Gu Xixi can expand her agricultural holdings however she likes in the future.

And the Imperial Court knows the Northwest is bitterly cold and barren, its land unsuitable for grain, so it has never regarded the Northwest's vast lands as important; to this day it has placed the nation's granaries in Jiangnan and the central riverside regions.

But they don't know that the Northwest now has a farmer named Gu Xixi.

He Jinglan was greatly shocked, digested it for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands.

"Xixi, you're really sly! But I like it!"

Break time is over; this afternoon we must keep working.

After digging continuously for two and a half days, we had gathered enough of the required epilepsy grass.

After all, we only needed to figure out how to mix the epilepsy into the Northern Li people's fodder; we couldn't be greedy, as adding too much at once would easily be discovered.

At noon, when Gu Xixi announced the end of work, she and He Jinglan paid out the full wages for this last half day to everyone.

Before this, they had always settled the day's wages in the evening.

Many women received their own earned wages for the first time in their lives; encouraged, they worked even harder.

As a result, when the work was finally finished, it was a full half day earlier than Gu Xixi had expected as the fastest possible time.