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Listening to the sound of sticks striking against bodies outside the tent, the other generals became somewhat unsettled.
"General..." a scholarly-looking general spoke up, "I am Zhang Sheng."
Su Peijiu squinted her eyes and stared at the tent's entrance.
Zhang Sheng's lips moved, but he finally gritted his teeth and said, "Since you are new here, General, attacking General Big Tiger right away may cause discontent among the soldiers. I ask you to reconsider."
Su Peijiu raised her eyelids slightly, but with a Cat Face Mask on, her expression was hidden. "Do you know why the Crown Prince and His Majesty sent me to lead the troops into battle?"
"I do not know." This was also a point of confusion for everyone; there were princes in court, and Duke Qi or Prince Huai would be much better than this unknown and cryptic cat-faced person.
Su Peijiu sneered, "Because Yuan Cang has no one!"
The Deputy General looked at Su Peijiu in shock, his lips pressed tightly together without a word.
Zhang Sheng suddenly stood up: "Isn't that going too far, General? How could Yuan Cang have no one?!"
"I can clearly tell you what the officials in Chang'an are doing and how that esteemed Majesty is pitifully clinging to life... but can you bear it?"
"General—!" the Deputy General shouted, signaling Su Peijiu to stop. What she was doing now was shaking the morale of the army! This was a major taboo in military affairs!
"Deputy General, there is no need to worry. You and I both know that the court has already abandoned us. If we win this war, they will continue to look down on us from above; if we lose, we will just be a group of ghosts dying in front while those bureaucrats will still send people to seek peace with the Red Nation Monarch..." Her nonchalance struck at the hearts of the generals present.
"So... before we go to war, let me tell you these poor souls how you exist in the eyes of the court you worship and serve!"
"Then what does it matter?" Zhang Sheng listened and smiled bitterly. "I still have my mother in Chang'an, so I absolutely cannot afford to lose."
"Right!" Su Peijiu stood up and walked down, finally someone was expressing what she wanted to say. "We are not serving the court; we are fighting for our wives and children in Chang'an! Do you want to see the cavalry of the Crimson Kingdom trample through the city of Chang'an? Do you want to see your loved ones fall in a pool of blood?"
"I don't want that!" Big Tiger bent over and entered with a very strange posture. He had just been listening to the words of this new general. Although he still felt some dissatisfaction, he was slightly more comfortable with him now; at least he wasn't one of those who only knew about frivolous matters and could still care about the country and its people, which was a good thing.
"The court is not just a trivial matter, but we generals have all trained under the Desolate King. Although our qualifications may be lacking, we have never thought of handing our country over to others!" Big Tiger was also a man of spirit, speaking with a deep voice and fiery passion.
"Very good!" Su Peijiu smiled with satisfaction and stepped outside, leaving the generals stunned.
Big Tiger hurriedly asked, "General, where are you going?"
"I'm just a general; the Crown Prince hasn't made me a Marshal. For what comes next, you can ask the Deputy General; he knows what to do." It seemed she was going to be an idle general.
The Deputy General's eyes lit up as he spoke, "First, separate the elite soldiers from the other troops; we need to find at least one hundred thousand elite soldiers!"
Finding one hundred thousand out of five hundred thousand should be an easy task, but soon the generals realized the problem: how many of those five hundred thousand were old, weak, sick, or disabled? The court had actually sent them out.
Indeed, when the Desolate King was deposed, many generals had resigned one after another and took some men with them when they left.
After much effort to pick out one hundred thousand elite soldiers, Big Tiger sighed. "The court sending them out is just sending them to their deaths."
Zhang Sheng looked worriedly at the sprawling camp before finally resting his gaze on the main tent. "That person doesn't seem anxious at all."
"Are you that Cat-faced General?"
"He seems to have everything planned out," Zhang Sheng nodded. "Will he bring miracles?"
"I don't know." Big Tiger was a rough man; he didn't concern himself with miracles, only with the outcomes of battles—winners became kings, losers became bandits...
...
When night fell, several shadows swiftly darted through the winding tents and soon arrived at the brightly lit main tent. There sat a young man wearing a Cat Face Mask, with three large jars of liquor and some drinking dishes in front of him.
"You're here?" The young man did not lift his eyes. "Take a seat."
"Master of the Building..." Flower Mother hesitated as she stepped forward.
Su Peijiu curled her lips, but there was no trace of a smile: "It seems my words as Master of the Building have never been taken seriously by you." She placed her hand adorned with a Silver Ring on the table, its silver glint flickering in the light.
Flower Mother and the others immediately knelt down, shouting in unison, "We beg Master of the Building for forgiveness!"
Su Peijiu looked at the crowd kneeling before her—some familiar, some unfamiliar; some had appeared during the inheritance ceremony, while others had not. She sneered inwardly; indeed, a mere fire starter was far more useful than her as a living person.
"I know you are dissatisfied with my sudden emergence as Master of the Building." She poured herself a drink from one of the jars and downed it. After finishing, she smashed the dish violently in front of Flower Mother, her voice cold and sharp: "But do not forget! I have never coveted this position of Master of the Building! It is you who insisted that I take it—!"
"Master of the Building..." Hua Qian spoke with a pale face, but Flower Mother remained expressionless, bowing her head in silence.
"Shut up—!" Su Peijiu's cold gaze swept over, startling Hua Qian into silence. "Can I not even speak without you interrupting? I have truly experienced the rules of Nan Xie Tower during these past few days! No wonder there has been no significant movement in a hundred years; you all hide away like turtles... Does wealth make you happy? Are you proud to be as rich as a nation?"
"Even if you have that wealth, I doubt you dare to spend it! You boast about how great Nan Xie Tower is; is it satisfying to engage in verbal disputes? I see you only dare to oppose those fallen families; when faced with real issues, you hang back and act indifferent. When necessary, can Master of the Building also sacrifice herself for you?" Su Peijiu's eyes were like poison as they landed on Flower Mother's face.
She is forcing her...
"I have been the Master of the Building of Nan Xie Tower long enough. From today onwards, you have nothing to do with me!" She picked up a cup of wine and downed it, pointing at the door: "Get out!"
Flower Mother remained kneeling on the ground, motionless. At that moment, someone muttered, "The Master of the Building's ring is still on her hand; how can she sever ties?"
Su Peijiu let out a cold laugh after hearing this. She drew a dagger from her waist and slammed her hand on the table, brandishing the dagger: "This ring can't be taken off, but since you all are so eager, I'll give it to you!"
"Master of the Building!" Black Crow shouted, his eyes flashing with shock. Hua Qian, kneeling beside him, had already cried until her eyes were red, while Yan Bai, who was also kneeling behind them, was completely dumbfounded, not knowing what was happening. Why had the once gentle Master of the Building become so unfamiliar in this moment?
"Oh? Does Black Crow have something to say?" The dagger was sharp and pricked a spot of vermilion on her jade-like finger.
Black Crow, whose name had been called out, looked somewhat flustered: "Master of the Building, please don't act impulsively." Throughout their journey together, he had watched this girl grow into a cunning and strategic woman. She had just come of age but had already endured so much in this year.
"Black Crow, you are mistaken. What I am doing is not impulsive; I am merely warning you not to take others' things lightly. If you take them but cannot handle them properly and succeed, you must pay the price..." She narrowed her Water Eyes, and a cold light seemed to spill from her elongated face.
The dagger in her hand was raised high again and swung towards her middle finger!
In an instant, a golden hairpin shot forward and knocked the dagger away. Even so, the sharp dagger still left a blood mark on that soft jade-like hand. The crimson blood instantly congealed into a smooth scarlet line on her palm like agate.
Su Peijiu looked at the solitary dagger lying on the ground and the golden hairpin stuck in front of her on the table, curling her lips in disdain: "Flower Mother, what do you mean by this?"
"Nan Xie Youyue, throughout history and time, believe me as I float through existence!" Flower Mother respectfully pressed her head to the ground: "Thanks to my lord's grace, we shall from this day forth endure hardships without complaint!"
"Endure hardships without complaint—!" After Flower Mother spoke, more than a dozen people kneeling behind her seemed to have made up their minds as well and followed her lead by prostrating themselves on the ground in submission.
Su Peijiu simply smiled, her gaze playfully fixed on the back of her injured hand. After a while, she did not speak, and the people in front of her also did not lift their heads to look at her.
Merchants are driven by profit; Nan Xie was no longer the Nan Xie that Yue Niang once held in her hands. Although they still bore the name of Nan Xie, they had already become hollow inside. While they were still united on the surface, the spirit of sharing both glory and disgrace had long since faded.
"Think carefully before you speak; otherwise, there will be a price to pay," she said slowly, her tone as relaxed as if it were casual conversation.
Flower Mother and the others were taken aback: "We are willing to serve the Master of the Building even at the cost of our lives!"
"Do you have no regrets?" Her voice was ethereal and unrealistic.
"Absolutely no regrets!"
"But I no longer trust you." Su Peijiu casually threw out this statement.
At that moment, Ji Yu appeared outside the tent in a red outfit, her smile radiant: "Junior Sister, the moonlight outside is beautiful. Do you have the interest to go out and enjoy it?"
"Very well." She actually stood up and went out.
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