RWNEFE -Chapter 236 Zhou Ruyuan, Why Not Eat Meat Porridge?

Was it just his illusion, or was the room too dimly lit?

Sun Zhong still had other matters to attend to and couldn’t dwell on it.

The northwest was a barren, unforgiving land. Forget about abundant resources—sometimes even getting drinking water was difficult.

This welcome banquet had been painstakingly arranged by him. Now Shen Lanxi said it wasn’t necessary. Was it because she considered herself above such things?

He had initially thought to let the soldiers eat it anyway but worried that she might demand it later. Sun Zhong felt the latter was more likely.

“Tell the kitchen: if the ingredients for the welcome banquet can be stored, store them. If not, cook them for now.”

“Yes, sir!”

Then there were the battle reports and the troop deployment information on the Turks. These were military secrets, and he had to fetch them personally.

“General, she’s just here as an envoy for the marriage. Are we really supposed to give her these?”

Sun Zhong glanced at his deputy, who knew only part of the situation.

“Send them to her. If we don’t now, we’ll have to later anyway. Consider it a simple favor.” Once the Northern Expedition Army veterans left to follow the Southern Zhen King, these reports would eventually end up in Shen Lanxi’s hands.

There was no need to make enemies over this. Of course, some critical reports he would keep.

Shen Lanxi was just a woman—what could she understand from battle reports?

As soon as Sun Zhong had the reports taken away, the subordinates who had received the marriage delegation earlier came to recount the journey.

“She’s accompanied by Wei Dongzhu, the Major General of the Wei Family Army—Wei Dongzhu!”

Sun Zhong felt his heart skip a beat, immediately recalling the reports he had just sent off.

Could those be for Wei Dongzhu to see?

“Wasn’t Wei Dongzhu dead?”

The deputy shook his head. “No. I don’t know the details. I only saw him holding the Wei Family Army’s tiger tally!”

Sun Zhong’s eyes widened for a moment. Then, with a glint of understanding, he immediately had all the battle reports sent to Shen Lanxi.

He understood now—Shen Lanxi’s leverage was Wei Dongzhu!

If Wei Dongzhu had been with the pacification army all along, that would explain the battle reports from Dongchuan.

But one thing puzzled him: why would Wei Dongzhu—a grown man—put Shen Lanxi, a woman, in the forefront? Even if he wanted to keep his identity hidden, he could have sent a man instead. Then he thought of Shen Lanxi’s face and understood.

A hero is helpless in front of a beauty!

Shen Lanxi analyzed the battle situation with her subordinates while eating.

Maps of the northwest and the territories of the three Turkic tribes hung on either side of the desk.

“The three tribes previously sent an envoy named Abu Khan for negotiations. Over more than two years, there were no fewer than six rounds of talks, all led by this Abu Khan!”

Qian Feng frowned. “Judging from all these raids, I don’t think the three tribes actually want peace.”

Wei Dongzhu’s gaze was sharp. “The three tribes are ambitious wolves. Their true intention is to annex Great Zhou territory. Negotiations only buy them time to resupply!”

“The Turks and Tatars are nomadic. The timing of their raids coincides with the seasons when grasslands and water are abundant,” he added. During this time, both horses and men could eat their fill and have energy for battle.

Xiao Fang said, “They’ve already captured nine cities and slaughtered tens of thousands of civilians. Such beasts—we should just fight!”

Ban Sicao scoffed, “Fight? Didn’t the general just say they’re leaving? How do you fight? With what? Do you expect us to take on the three tribes?” Don’t even dream of it.

Shen Lanxi replied, “Tomorrow we’ll rest. Within two days, our people must be fully settled.”

Wei Dongzhu understood. The hidden troops were not ready to reveal themselves, and the Northern Expedition Army couldn’t know yet.

Shen Lanxi’s eyes darkened slightly. “If I’m correct, Zhou Ruyuan should be arriving in Dongchuan soon.”

The others remained silent, acknowledging her point.

“When he reaches Dongchuan, he will surely report to the court. Now is not the time for us to act. Once someone handles the hardest part for us, we can execute the rest with legitimacy!”

They had heard Shen Lanxi say “with legitimacy” more than once and felt it unnecessary.

Was she really such a by-the-book person? Well, at least she spoke as if she were!

“Rest well tonight. Tomorrow I’ll take you on a patrol!”

“Yes, General!”

…

Zhou Ruyuan received the imperial report and had no choice but to separate from Bai Qingling ahead of schedule. He pushed forward day and night to reach Dongchuan.

By the time he arrived, the wind was bone-chilling, and frost and snow blew through the air.

He had already glimpsed the harshness of Dongchuan’s cold. But once he actually took over the camp, even inside the tents, he felt a piercing chill.

“Why are there so many outstanding debts?”

“Why is there no food supply?”

“Why are there so many women in the camp?”

If not for guidance from local officers, he would have thought he had entered a civilian household.

Liu Yanhui casually picked a ledger from a tall stack and opened it for Zhou Ruyuan.

“The court never provided the pacification army with a single bag of supplies or a coin in pay. General Shen had no choice but to borrow from merchants and local prominent families.”

Zhou Ruyuan didn’t believe it.

“How could the court not provide supplies? Did you not ask?”

Liu Yanhui raised an eyebrow. The “Why not eat meat porridge?” thought came to him, recalling an old book.

“We did ask! Here are the responses from the court,” he said, showing a box of official replies.

Well-documented, he didn’t mind reading them aloud.

“Before Shen Lanxi was officially granted rank, it’s needless to say. After she became Pacification General, every two months she ordered us to draft a request for provisions and pay. These are all the court’s responses!”

“This one states: ‘The two rebel kings in Dongchuan block the way, making delivery impossible. The pacification army must handle their own supplies.’”

“This one says roughly the same—let the pacification army manage themselves.”

“This one specifies that the army can requisition from locals, but the people have already paid taxes and have no extra food or money.”

“And this one…”

Every document bore the imperial seal—there was no faking them.

Zhou Ruyuan’s mind went blank for a moment, then he asked, “If the court didn’t provide supplies, how did the pacification army manage?”

It wasn’t so much ‘manage’ as ‘survive.’

Liu Yanhui was prepared and pulled out another ledger.

“Didn’t we just say? They borrowed from merchants and local prominent families!”

Zhou Ruyuan’s eyes sharpened. “How did so many people agree to lend? These merchants and noble families—getting them to provide money or food is harder than reaching the heavens!”

Liu Yanhui smiled. “Our general adopted over a hundred children and disciples. They are the children of merchants and noble families. With this familial tie, they were willing to lend.”

Zhou Ruyuan remained silent for a long while.