Catching Monsters

What will Chapter 639 do?
Five days have passed since the challenge was issued, but Xu Xiaogang has not sent back any message.

Once the challenge was sent out, it seemed to sail into the vast ocean.

During these three days, Xiao Min'er continued to wait and did not rush to persuade Wang Longzhi.

Finally, three days later, in the evening, when the two were having dinner alone, Xiao Min'er spoke up to persuade Wang Longzhi privately.

"Longzhi, you must know more about the situation at the front than I do. Xu Xiaogang has no intention of engaging in battle."

"On the contrary, many of the garrison troops and border troops originally stationed in Wuling Prefecture began to rush to the Sanmen Pass. In the past three days, they have also built a lot of defensive fortifications."

"It's clear they intend to proceed slowly."

Xiao Min'er said in a deep voice, "Do you think we can afford to wait this out? How long can we wait?"

"To put it another way, if Xu Xiaogang intends to slowly continue attacking the other passes..."

"If we recruit soldiers on a large scale, expand the army, and intensify training, we can still hope to have the strength to fight."

"Now is not the time for you to be indecisive."

Listening to Xiao Min'er's advice, Wang Longzhi realized that his fantasy of a quick showdown with Xu Xiaogang was almost shattered.

He took a deep breath, then nodded, his only condition being: "If we win this battle and take control of the three southwestern provinces, then we can gather food and transport it back to those provinces."

"Of course." Xiao Min'er naturally did not object, as long as Wang Longzhi was willing to agree at this time.

During these five days, although Xiao Min'er did not mention the forced conscription to Wang Longzhi, she had already been making preparations in secret.

After Wang Longzhi nodded, she quickly finished her meal and began to make arrangements for the matter.

People of this era have always looked down on joining the army and fighting wars.

As the saying goes, a good man doesn't become a soldier, and good iron isn't used to make nails.

Although it is located in the southwest, for many people, the best future is to study hard, pass the imperial examinations, and become an official in the imperial court.

Even if things don't go well, it's still doing business.

Of course, this applies to people from well-off families. For most people, they either worked as farmhands or tenants under landlords who owned land.

Soon after the order for mandatory conscription was issued, unrest quickly broke out in various parts of the three southwestern provinces.

Any eligible man between the ages of eighteen and twenty-eight, regardless of whether he is the son of a merchant, a scholar, a tenant farmer, or a landlord's long-term laborer.

They were all forcibly captured and conscripted. In an instant, many families cried out in despair, for war meant death.

Moreover, these are rebels, and the imperial army is about to arrive.

The news caused a great stir throughout the three southwestern provinces, and Xu Xiaogang's military camp at the front lines naturally heard about it as well.

"Are these guys crazy?"

Inside the tent, many generals were drinking strong liquor with Xu Xiaogang, and they were also stunned when they heard the news.

Forced conscription would be extremely devastating to local commerce, agriculture, and all other aspects of life.

That's a big no-no.

It should be noted that the Zhou Dynasty was a very large court, and it took a huge amount of money to train more than 300,000 new soldiers. Only by providing sufficient silver could they gradually recruit 300,000 people to join the army.

At this point, the rebels are conscripting soldiers at all costs, and they could probably muster an army of two or three hundred thousand, or even more, in a short period of time.

The faces of those present all wore somber expressions.

At this moment, one of them looked at Xu Xiaogang and said in a deep voice, "General, we need to intensify our attack. If we have another two or three months to let these soldiers who were forcibly conscripted train for two or three months... their combat effectiveness will be completely different."

Listening to this person's advice, Xu Xiaogang took a deep breath. How could he not understand this principle? Although he used to be unrestrained, now that he was leading troops, his personality had become more and more composed.

He knew very well that one must never rush things.

He looked at the map and said in a deep voice, "If we send a large army to Chongshan County immediately, there are several dangerous places along the way."

"General, it's better than dragging it out for a while and letting the rebels train these two or three hundred thousand men before we fight."

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiaogang frowned deeply, took a deep breath, and said, "I need to think about it carefully..."

……

While Xu Xiaogang was deep in thought on the front lines, Jiang Yun was enjoying a comfortable life in Beijing.

As the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he didn't need to worry about the daily affairs of the three major garrisons in the east, north, and south. He would only go to the yamen to handle important matters.

On ordinary days, he would accompany Xu Suwen to stroll around the capital, or go to Renyi Academy to see how Jiang Qiaoqiao was doing in her studies.

Life was quite pleasant.

That very morning, Eunuch Jiang Xing from the palace arrived at the Jiang residence. Jiang Yun dared not delay and hurriedly went to the door to greet him.

"Why did Eunuch Jiang come in person? If there's anything you need, you could have just sent someone to give the order," Jiang Yun asked with a smile.

"Oh, my lord, how could I dare to give you such an order? It's like this, the Duke of Zhenguo at the front has won a great victory and has finally conquered the natural barrier of Sanmen Pass. His Majesty has sent me to tell you this good news as soon as possible," Jiang Xing said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun's heart stirred slightly, and she finally understood the purpose of the eunuch's visit.

This is to ask her to give the meteorite to Ye Xiuyuan.

However, what surprised Jiang Yun was that Ye Xiuyuan was really that powerful, taking down the Three Gates Pass so quickly.

Jiang Xing chuckled and said, "Speaking of this Mr. Ye, he is quite an extraordinary person. He returned to the capital last night, met with His Majesty immediately, and offered him many ingenious suggestions for governing the country."

"His Majesty attaches great importance to this matter, and has repeatedly said that this Mr. Ye has extraordinary talent."

"Yes, yes, yes." Jiang Yun nodded: "Please wait a moment, sir."

Soon, Jiang Yun returned with a delicate little box. Inside the box was a meteorite.

"This is the meteorite from that day." Jiang Xing looked at the crystal-clear little thing in the box with curiosity in his eyes. He couldn't help but reach out and touch it before putting the box away. "I'll take it to Mr. Ye right away."

"Lord Jiang sacrificed this precious meteorite for His Majesty, and His Majesty will remember it forever."

Jiang Yun could only manage a wry smile before personally seeing Jiang Xing out the door.

Then, Jiang Yun turned around quickly with a blank expression, went back into the house, and told Xu Suwen the news that Xu Xiaogang had won a victory at the front.

Upon hearing this, Xu Suwen naturally breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that the Sanmen Pass at the front line was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

It would be a lie to say that Xu Suwen wasn't worried while at home.

Most of the time, however, they simply keep their worries hidden in their hearts.

Then she asked, "You gave away the meteorite?"

“His Majesty is concerned about it, what can we do if we don’t give it to him?” Jiang Yun frowned and said in a deep voice, “I have a feeling that this meteorite will lead to something big.”

"Forget it, I don't want to."

Jiang Yun shook her head. If she couldn't figure something out, she wouldn't dwell on it anymore, lest she only add to her troubles.

But soon, he couldn't help but wonder what Ye Xiuyuan would do after obtaining the meteorite.

(End of this chapter)