stand back, let me come

Chapter 1388: You forced me to do this (Part 1388) [Seeking monthly pass]

At the command, the arrow that was ready to be shot flew away with a buzzing sound.

A rain of arrows covering the sky and the sun flew out from the enemy formation.

Even though Xun Ding had been prepared for this, he was still surprised to see his guess become reality. He didn't know what good it would do to the enemy to lower the limit of the chaotic world again and again? Once this happened, it was equivalent to cutting off a way for future prisoners of war to survive, because the armistice agreement for exchanging/redeeming prisoners of war was torn up! In the future, anyone can use this link to sneak attack the unprepared enemy!

The collapse of trust will trigger a series of uncontrollable consequences.

One of them is to abandon captured troops.

Rather than taking a gamble and taking the risk of being ambushed, it is better to treat the prisoners as sunk costs from the beginning. The prisoners are already in a difficult situation, and if this happens, they will lose their value of being redeemed.

The prisoners also heard the noise from above.

Faced with the threat of life and death, the desire to survive turned the already disorganized team into a mess, with people pushing and shoving each other and fleeing in all directions.

The captives were so densely packed that they could not run two steps without being pierced by the rain of arrows. At the critical moment, a thick green fog gushed upward from the ground, and instantly gathered into a huge green crocodile.

The giant crocodile looks ferocious and terrifying, with heavy armor covering its head, back, abdomen, and limbs. The surface of the armor is covered with half-arm-long metal spikes, and even the sharp teeth in its mouth have a metallic luster.

The giant crocodile's head and tail can be over a hundred feet long.

The long tail swept across, and the arrows were deflected by its armor, making a clanging sound and splashing countless sparks. The giant crocodile blocked the first wave of arrows in time, but many captives were still injured by stray arrows. Before the first wave subsided, the second wave followed closely, covering the sky and the fields.

Xun Ding led his men to charge out of the battle array.

The giant crocodile bought precious time for its side.

The centurion commanded his soldiers to gather their morale and gather a hurricane above the battlefield, using the wind to destroy the arrow rain army's attack to the maximum extent. Xun Ding rushed into the enemy's formation in an instant and approached the one-eyed general. The latter did not want to entangle with him too much.

His mission was to bring back the ransom and kill the captives.

As soon as Xun Ding arrived, his deputy general and personal guards took the initiative to greet him. He sat on the back of his warhorse, and his only remaining eye flashed with a cold light. He licked his dry lips, suppressed the boiling murderous intent in his chest, and urged his subordinates in a rough voice: [Hurry up! ]

Ransom is a dead thing.

But not this group of exhausted captives.

They were now a burden that held them back and were also sitting ducks. Especially in this chaotic situation, they would just run around like headless flies, and in panic they would even regard the people who saved them as enemies: [Shen is a woman after all. ]

The one-eyed general did not deny Shen Tang's ability, but he also disdained her excessive kindness. Soldiers are chess pieces, and chess pieces must have value. Chess pieces without value should be discarded decisively. If you insist on protecting them, you will only lose sight of the big picture and end up in complete defeat.

If he were Shen Youli, he would just make the decision when necessary.

How could you use something valuable to redeem a bunch of trash?

As he was thinking, the giant crocodile spun and fell down like a giant drill, aiming at him. The one-eyed general said contemptuously: [If you insist on seeking death, don't blame me! ]

He kicked his foot, and the unicorn under his crotch let out a shrill moo, and its limbs almost sank into the mud, while the one-eyed warrior jumped up to meet the giant crocodile. The majestic martial energy poured into his right arm, and his already strong arm swelled like it was blown up, almost stretching the martial armor.

He blocked with his long arm and grabbed one of the giant crocodile's teeth with his bare hands.

【Well--】

The force of the giant crocodile's death roll was beyond the one-eyed general's expectation. Even he couldn't help but groan, and felt a tearing pain in his tiger's mouth. However, he just swallowed the sweet taste in his throat without changing his expression. He gathered his strength in his arms, grabbed the giant crocodile and threw it out.

The giant crocodile flew a long distance in the air, feeling dizzy and with its center of gravity unstable. A cold murderous intent pounced on it from above.

They were three hyenas wearing yellow and black armor.

The hyenas were smaller than the giant crocodiles, and their armor was light and fitted to protect only the vital parts of their bodies, ensuring their safety without affecting their flexibility. The three hyenas surrounded the giant crocodile from different directions, their eyes flashing with ferocious light and their mouths dripping with foul saliva. For some reason, none of the three hyenas had their right eyes.

When Xun Ding saw this situation, he couldn't help but curse inwardly.

Who wouldn't have a headache when encountering a brave and courageous totem like the hyena?

The Wudan Totems of other generals are usually one, but the Wudan Totems like Hyenas are shameless and like to gang up on others, with several of them at a time. These hyenas are in tune with each other and cooperate with each other tacitly. They are not afraid even if they encounter a Wudan Totem with stronger strength than themselves. They rely on tacit cooperation to gang up on the opponent and kill him. However, Xun Ding is not panicked, because his Wudan Totem is good at defense.

Gongxi Chou disliked Xun Ding, and his Wudan Totem also disliked the giant crocodile. In recent years, the giant crocodile has been bullied by Gongxi Chou's Wudan Totem. The giant crocodile cannot beat Xun Ding, not in strength or speed, so it can only find another way.

Thicken your skin without thinking.

Wear the thickest armor, covering you from head to toe!

Although it greatly affects the speed of movement, it is safe! Even if the python wants to strangle it to death, there are countless spikes on its armor!

These three hyenas couldn’t break through even with their teeth!

The result is similar to what was guessed.

There were three hyenas, two of which were responsible for attracting the giant crocodile's attention, while the other one pounced from above, trying to attack from the blind spot and threaten the giant crocodile's vitals. As a result, its claws only produced flying sparks on the scales, and its sharp teeth only left shallow tooth marks.

And the giant crocodile?

This level is not even scratching the surface.

Even Gong Xichou's Wudan Totem could only deal with the giant crocodile by throwing it around, and had long given up the idea of ​​breaking its armor.

After several attacks, the hyenas didn't gain any advantage.

Instead, the giant crocodile seized the opportunity and bit one of the hyenas' forelimbs, followed by a death roll, throwing the hyena away, landing heavily in a corner of the battlefield, raising a cloud of yellow sand. It wanted to pursue the victory, but the other two hyenas blocked its path. A giant crocodile and two hyenas, these three beasts confronted each other for a few breaths, and moved almost at the same time.

The hyena is smart and has roughly figured out the giant crocodile's weaknesses.

Abandon the original tactics and choose to approach from other angles.

At the same time, the enemy took advantage of the chaos to pocket the ransom, and fired several waves of arrows at the prisoners before retreating.

The one-eyed general blocked his way, and Xun Ding only killed one of the other side's deputy generals and slightly injured two others. This loss was obviously beyond the one-eyed general's expectations, and he said fiercely: [Okay, I will remember you today, but you won't have this luck tomorrow! ]

They retreated, leaving behind a trail of corpses.

Xun Ding did not send any troops to pursue.

No need to guess, he knew how many enemies were lying in ambush on the road: [Bring our people back first, and then report the news. ]

He glanced at the messy battlefield again: [Count the men!]

Xun Ding was informed of the situation before receiving the order. His master guessed that it would not be smooth to bring back the prisoners. They would either be ambushed on the way back or attacked on the spot during the transaction. This was beyond Xun Ding's usual moral cognition: [How dare these people? ]

[War is the art of deception. How about Sun Tzu's Art of War?]

When it comes to military operations, we still have to look to these grandsons.

Xun Ding was puzzled: [Earlier, the Lord said that there would be problems with these returning captives. If they launch a surprise attack, wouldn't it be in vain?]

Shen Tang said: [It’s not like they’re all killed. ]

This move will also naturally reduce their vigilance.

The enemy launched a surprise attack when the fighting was supposed to be over, and the targets of the surprise attack were prisoners. Normal people would focus on the enemy's shameless behavior of breaking the bottom line, and would not suspect that there was something wrong with the prisoners. After all, if the enemy had acted faster, or if the enemy had reacted slower, not many of these prisoners would have survived.

They are alive only because of luck and nothing else.

Xun Ding said: [But this will kill their own people by mistake...] [How can it be their own people? In the eyes of these people who claim to be chess masters, they are the only people, and the others are chess pieces, the difference is whether they are valuable or not. So what if they are killed by mistake? It's just the loss of a chess piece of little value.] As long as you don't treat people as people, the thinking of the Central Society can be easily understood, [Don't take it lightly.]

Xun Ding took the task.

Xun Zhen was worried about his son going into danger, so he sent more people to him.

[You must ensure that this batch of "ransom" is successfully robbed. Remember to act realistically and don't ruin the whole thing.] The old father loves him, but it is limited. The look in his eyes when he sees off the "ransom" is full of heartache and reluctance, which makes Xun Ding doubt who is his biological father.

Xun Ding said: [Son, please remember this.]

Xun Zhen said dissatisfiedly: [It is not the father and son who are at stake. ]

You can call him dad at home, but what should you call him outside the house?

Xun Ding: […This general will keep this in mind.]

After he finished speaking, Xun Zhen hit him on the back of the head.

Are you tired of living so you put on airs in front of him?

Xun Ding: [……]

He has had a really hard time these years, and he dares not speak out.

My father was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. If he offended the other party, the Ministry of Revenue would dare to approve the military pay at the last minute. If he dared to argue with the other party, the other party would say that they were doing their job impartially. The Ministry of Revenue had so many things to do, it was impossible to approve them all at once, there must be a sequence, right? Xun Ding was just unlucky and was ranked later.

If you are not satisfied, you can impeach him.

Xun Ding actually impeached him once.

The father and son had a very ugly quarrel at the court meeting.

After all, the Ministry of Revenue approved the military pay within the stipulated time, and there was no arrears or default. What else was there to be dissatisfied about? Xun Zhen even called Xun Ding a giant baby! If you are not satisfied, you can go to other places to see which Ministry of Revenue never defaults on its payments?

Is there anything else you’re not satisfied with?

Xun Ding: [……]

It sounds reasonable, but I always feel like something is wrong.

There was no overnight hatred between father and son. Xun Ding gave in a little and took his daughter Adou to Xun Zhen to get together. The relationship between father and son was reconciled and he was able to be ranked first in the list of military pay.

_(:з　∠)_

Before the army set out, Xun Ding quietly asked his old father for advice. His old father said: [The national treasury is in a bit of a pickle...]

【Then this batch of 'ransom'...】

【You can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a child. 】

Xun Ding: [……]

He looked at the enemy soldiers who disappeared at the end of his sight and exhaled. After a while, the losses were counted. The casualties were mainly concentrated on the captured soldiers, a total of 516 people, most of whom died from stray arrows, and a small number were killed by the enemy's charge.

When Xun Ding heard the number, he didn't even bat an eyelid.

He just said calmly: [Withdraw the troops.]

Most of these captives were local garrisons in the enclave. They obeyed Kangguo's orders but were not very united. They were very close to the local gentry in the enclave. Kangguo had also allocated a lot of resources to them over the years, but the governance of the enclave was still a mess...

Until Miao Ne led his troops to reorganize the situation.

There is some effect, but it also forces people to do desperate things.

The news here was transmitted to the palace as quickly as possible.

Shen Tang has almost finished cleaning up the mess: [The Central Region can't hold it anymore. I originally thought it would be quiet for two years.]

Gu Chi said: [Master, do you mean to attack directly? ]

[If we hang up a banner of no war, will the other side stop fighting?] Shen Tang stood up, [If they want to fight, then fight. The worst possible outcome is that both of us will perish. Anyway, it can't get any worse than this...]

At this time, she was actually thinking about Yunda's "goodness".

Because of this Lao Deng, there are two possible outcomes for Shen Tang's war with the Central Region: if he wins, he'll get to drink champagne; if he loses, he'll go to reincarnate. But there is only one outcome for the Central Region: if he loses, he'll go to reincarnate; if he wins, he'll go to reincarnate. The only difference is whether it's sooner or later.

Shen Tang is going to the royal capital.

But before that, I need to meet someone.

She didn't invite people, but visited them in person.

Cui Zhi, who lives in seclusion at home and works hard to pursue his wife: [???]

When he heard the servant's words, he thought he had misheard.

He stood up to greet him, wondering what had brought Shen Tang here. Shen Tang sat in the first seat, and without saying anything, he went straight to the point and asked Cui Zhi to help him. Cui Zhi did not respond immediately, but looked at Shen Tang's face warily: [I wonder what instructions Mr. Shen has? ]

[You are still the president of the Southwest Branch, right? ]

Cui Zhi nodded: [The time for the change of leadership has not yet arrived. ]

[I don't have a good impression of the Gods Society. The Southwest Branch is a hidden danger. Sooner or later, we have to make an effort to clean it up, but not now.] Shen Tang's straightforwardness made Cui Zhi's heart beat fast. Then she took a sip of tea and said calmly, [But Patriarch Cui doesn't have to worry that this 'clean-up' will 'clean up' you or the Cui family. It can even ensure the prosperity of the Cui family for a hundred years.]

Shen Tang revealed his cards directly.

[There may be another war ahead. The situation in the southwest has just been settled, and there are still remnants of evil fleeing in various places. I am worried that they will take this opportunity to revive. But with the ability of Patriarch Cui, these remnants will only be clowns. ]

Cui Zhi moved his lips: [Mr. Shen, thank you for your compliment.]

He vaguely guessed Shen Tang's real purpose in looking for him.

She asked him to promise that there would be no chaos in the southwest during the fighting on the front line.

At least, there can be no major chaos within a year.

Cui Zhi also told the truth.

[Whether it is chaotic or not, I am afraid it is not up to Cui to decide. 】

He was just the head of a noble family with some private troops under his control. His scale was not even comparable to that of the local warlords, let alone the ability to intimidate the entire southwest. The real deterrent to the remnants was the royal court. Once the front-line war was tense or lost, the southwest would surely be in chaos.

【But you are the branch owner! 】

[The main company just has more connections. ]

[Thinking that those who can sit in the position of the head of the club have similar abilities.] Shen Tang's eyes fell on Cui Hui who came after hearing the news, and his words were meaningful. The head of the Northwest Branch is Qi Yuanliang, is Cui Zhi really going to admit that he is not capable?

Cui Zhi: [……]

[Besides, does the Cui family still have a way out? If Kangguo is destroyed, given the Cui family's various actions in the war in the southwest, the southwest will not be able to accommodate the Cui family. Does the head of the Cui family really want to flee and wander around?] It's not about whether it can be done or not, but it must be done!

_ (: 3 "∠) _

I feel better today. I originally wanted to put it into one chapter, but I’m still short of 1,700 words. Seeing that I don’t have enough time, I can only post 4,000 words first.

The remaining chapters will be posted later in the morning.