RWNEFE -Chapter 237 Arriving in the Northwest, We Must Make Some Noise!

Liu Yanhui, as if worried Zhou Ruyuan wasn’t already sufficiently provoked, continued, “Now that the general has gone to the Northwest, family ties are no longer effective. If Your Highness wants to solve the problem of supplies, adopting sworn relatives is a good method!”

Zhou Ruyuan’s eyes darkened. He was royal blood—how could he casually adopt ties with ordinary citizens? Nobility of the imperial family was not something one could easily attach to.

“General, please make a decision quickly! The army’s supplies can only last a day or two at most!” Liu Yanhui added fuel to the fire.

Anger rose within Zhou Ruyuan. These people were clearly trying to intimidate him, wanting to see him fail.

He would never let them succeed!

“Immediately petition the court for orders and request the dispatch of supplies!”

“Yes, sir!”

Zhou Ruyuan’s subordinates immediately set to work.

Afterwards, Liu Yanhui and Che Mingyuan busied themselves with handing over matters to Zhou Ruyuan’s people.

There wasn’t much to transfer—just moving the debt ledgers from their hands into Zhou Ruyuan’s.

Everything took place under the watchful eye of Deputy Military Supervisor Wu Tong, who was merely a witness.

Late at night, Zhou Ruyuan’s men secretly brought Che Mingyuan and Wu Tong to him.

Che Mingyuan was set aside first—he had arrived late.

Whenever Zhou Ruyuan asked, he could only reply, “I came late, I don’t know.”

Che Mingyuan’s appointment documents were on display and could not be faked.

Zhou Ruyuan skipped Che Mingyuan and interrogated Wu Tong.

No matter how many times he asked, the debt ledgers existed exactly as described, and the over one hundred adopted sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters were all real.

Zhou Ruyuan and his men fell silent.

The court quickly replied, just as they had with Shen Lanxi—handle your own supplies, requisition locally if needed.

Upon receiving the reply, Zhou Ruyuan almost bit his teeth in frustration.

…

Sun Zhong knew Shen Lanxi planned to inspect the city and looked conflicted.

They were soldiers under the Southern Zhen King—was it proper for Shen Lanxi to patrol?

Wei Dongzhu said, “Our general is not inspecting the camp. She’s inspecting the city’s civilians and nearby villages.”

Sun Zhong was surprised. What was there to inspect among the city’s residents? He didn’t voice his doubt, as long as she wasn’t inspecting the camp itself.

“General Shen, do you want an escort for protection?”

Shen Lanxi waved her hand. “No need. I have my own people.”

Sun Zhong thought: with only the guards she brought, if a riot broke out, they probably couldn’t hold it.

Before he could ponder further, Shen Lanxi had already entered the city with her entourage.

Wei Dongzhu had arrived earlier and could guide her.

“The able-bodied youth have gone out to make a living. Only the elderly, weak, and sick remain.”

Shen Lanxi walked along the street, which had only a few shops and scattered stalls.

This city was a world apart from Xiling City.

Ahead, a stall sold sesame cakes. Shen Lanxi stopped.

“Buy a few sesame cakes. If you want some, go ahead and get some too!”

Wei Dongzhu bought two and brought them back.

“These cakes have a strong flavor. There’s a nearby salt lake, so salt is easy to come by.”

Shen Lanxi smelled the pepper—it made her appetite surge.

“Delicious!” Salty, with a strong peppery flavor.

Wei Dongzhu glanced at her and smiled. “Huangtu City used to be the largest trading hub for Hu merchants nearby. With the wars of the past two years, the merchants would rather leave their goods here than come themselves.”

Shen Lanxi walked and listened.

Wei Dongzhu noticed her eyes scanning an elderly man and child at the stall. “Most children have left with their parents. Those remaining are from families whose young have died.”

“So many people have died in the conscriptions and wars of the past two years!”

As she continued walking, they encountered street robbers.

“Mister, this is all we have left. If you take it all, my little grandson will starve!”

Two burly men kicked the old man aside.

“Take some of your things? That’s because I’m being generous. Move along, or your life will be forfeit!”

The old man had no choice—he was driven by survival. He would rather endure the beatings than let go.

“Mister, could you take only half? My grandson needs the rest to buy medicine.”

“Medicine? If we take these, you save money anyway. Might as well dig a pit and bury your grandson to make things easier…” A loud, arrogant laugh rang out.

Shen Lanxi frowned. “My sesame cakes! Now they have no flavor!”

Wei Dongzhu’s eyes darkened. He drew his sword and, in two strokes, ended the lives of both men.

Shen Lanxi smiled. “Now the cakes have flavor again!”

The surrounding citizens all fled in terror.

Shen Lanxi was in high spirits.

“We’ve just arrived in the Northwest—we must make some noise!”

Wei Dongzhu raised an eyebrow. “Do you want to execute them publicly?”

Shen Lanxi shook her head. “No, no. They aren’t serious villains. Let them at least remain intact.”

“Hang them at the city gate, whip them as a warning!”

Wei Dongzhu: “……”

Soon, news of Shen Lanxi’s actions reached Sun Zhong and the marriage delegation.

“Who did it?”

“Wei Dongzhu!”

“The Wei Family Army lost 400,000 men. Wei Dongzhu is about to bring blood and chaos to the Northwest!”

“Shen Lanxi is not to be feared. Just watch Wei Dongzhu!”

“Yes!”

Word spread through Huangtu City—Major General Wei Dongzhu of the Wei Family Army, upon arriving in Huangtu City, displayed decisive force to intimidate the three Turkic tribes!

Shen Lanxi patrolled the city and visited nearby villages.

Most of the villagers were elderly or weak; few young remained. Some villages were completely deserted, some half-empty.

Signs of swords and other weapons cutting through the village remained.

Shen Lanxi commanded, “Place our people in the abandoned villages.”

Wei Dongzhu: “Yes!”

Xiao Fang, Qian Feng, and others spent the day gathering information and reporting it to Cheng Zheng for verification.

Cheng Zheng cross-checked everything against Huangtu City’s records—every piece of information matched.

Shen Lanxi returned only at sunset, bringing back many locally unique items.

Meeting Hall

Wei Dongzhu reported, “Some on the list have been sent to the salt lake to dig salt, others are repairing city walls or forging weapons.”

Shen Lanxi had earlier copied the transport personnel list of the Wei Family Army’s supplies and pay from the Ministry of Personnel and the Supreme Court and had Xiaoxue deliver it to Wei Dongzhu.

Recently, Wei Dongzhu’s tasks had been investigating the Turkic tribes and locating the people on that list.

After speaking, Wei Dongzhu’s face darkened: “Over half of them are dead, and two are missing!”

Ban Sicao slammed the table, furious. “They were definitely silenced!”

Shen Lanxi asked, “Did they leave behind anything useful?”

Wei Dongzhu shook his head. “After joining the Northern Expedition Army, they were demoted step by step for various reasons. One named Yan Huai was responsible for transporting the general’s supplies. He had reached fourth rank, official title Zhengya General. Due to a retreat mishap, he was demoted to oversee wall construction, then further demoted to a lowly soldier. Another soldier named Sun Qian is missing. According to records, while extracting stone for wall construction, they accidentally fell into a deep valley.”