My lord, spare his life!

Guan Zong grinned and chuckled, his words full of provocation.

"If the granary floods in this weather, tsk tsk, that'll be a huge problem, no less serious than a fire." Guan Zong figured the two were too anxious and had neither the mood nor the energy to kill him. "I'm not playing around with you anymore, I'm outta here!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Guan Zong threw out two dark gold round objects.

The two generals were on tenterhooks.

"careful--"

I raised my hand to shield my eyes, but the expected blinding light did not occur.

Guan Zong feinted, creating an opening, and used the black chains to clear a path for himself. With a few leaps, he disappeared into the rain.

Realizing they had been tricked, the two generals were furious and immediately set out to kill Guan Zong. The attack on the granary was already a capital offense; if they couldn't capture the culprit to lessen their own punishment, their entire families would be implicated. But no sooner had they made a move than Niu Jinniu struck!

The jet-black chains, like serpents, coiled around the fiery tiger general's waist, suddenly tightening. The general roared in fury, "Beast, loosen your grip!"

Niu Jinniu remained silent, his pupils subtly turning scarlet.

"This is bad—"

"Break free from it!"

Even without his colleagues' reminder, General Tailfire Tiger realized the danger. He raised his hand and grabbed, and Tailfire Tiger transformed into a blazing bow of flames, piercing Niu Jinniu's spine with an arrow! The arrow pierced through the bull's body, dripping with blood as it disappeared into the soil.

With a terrible groan, Niu Jinniu's front legs buckled, and it knelt on the ground, the ground trembling slightly. Only when the black chains binding its body tightened as if they came alive did its once imposing, mountain-like body unwillingly disintegrate into mist.

"Where is that petty thief?"

A thorough search revealed no trace of Guan Zong.

They had to accept the fact that the thief had escaped right under their noses.

They got away!

"Ignore this scoundrel for now; saving the grain is the priority."

The rain would wash away the unfamiliar scent in the air, and Guan Zong's commotion forced all the city's guards to mobilize. With their scents mingling and polluting each other, finding a specific target was no easy task. Left with no other choice, the two had to send most of their troops to salvage the food supplies, leaving only a small force to eliminate the traitors within the city.

In a dark alleyway.

Guan Zong clutched his shoulder wound, his back pressed tightly against the bricks.

He listened intently to the distant footsteps until they faded into the distance before letting out a sigh of relief. He bent down and tore a long strip of cloth from his loose trousers, casually rubbed it with rainwater, and wrung it out. He held one end gently in his teeth and wrapped the other end around his wound.

Tighten and tie a knot.

He stole a cloth from a nearby household, draped it over himself, and, avoiding the search agents, headed to the pre-arranged meeting place.

"General Guan, you're finally back."

Seeing Guan Zong appear, my heart finally settled down.

A smile appeared on Guan Zong's face: "I'm lucky and won't die anytime soon. How about you guys? What did you gain?"

"The granary is heavily guarded. If General Guan hadn't drawn away some of the troops, it would have been really difficult to sneak in." The soldier who answered Guan Zong's question suddenly realized something and laughed heartily. "The city's drainage system is excellent, but it's precisely because it's so beautiful that it's so satisfying to destroy it."

The granary cracked, the moat overflowed, and with such a heavy downpour, the grain was soaked and submerged in filthy water; the final losses were unimaginable. On a sunny day, the grain could have been spread out to dry or bake.

But this rainy day—

Even people get moldy, let alone improperly stored grain?

In addition to destroying the drainage structure near the granary, they also sent people to dig underground tunnels, creating openings in every hidden entrance to the granary. Rainwater could then seep into the granary through these openings.

Guan Zong then asked, "Anything else? Wasn't there any poison?"

"It must have been downloaded."

Before leaving, he also added some fuel to the well near the granary.

In short, I did everything I could.

But it's hard to say how effective it will be.

"General Guan, your wound is still bleeding—" Everyone carried some hemostatic ointment with them. No matter how strong Guan Zong's physique was, leaving such a large wound untreated would affect his life.

"The city is under martial law now, so it won't be easy to make a move. Let's hide for a couple of days and then leave when the time is right." Guan Zong did not refuse the offer. Looking at his wounds being properly treated, he sighed deeply, a heavy sense of helplessness appearing on his young and handsome face.

"Why does General Guan sigh?"

Guan Zong: "I have to admit I'm getting old. As I get older, I really lack the strength to do anything. If it were before, those two wouldn't even have chased me; I could have easily beaten them into mincemeat by myself. Being injured like this this time was completely unexpected."

As he said this, a hint of regret, wishing he could turn back time, appeared on the young man's face—if he had another chance, he would definitely have performed better this time. He hadn't really gotten serious in a long time, and he was even more rusty than he had imagined.

"General Guan, where are you old?" Whether it's your apparent age or your actual age, you're far from needing to admit you're old. "If even the general says he's old, then what future do we all have?"

The fact that Guan Zong could cause such a huge disturbance, with the commotion felt across half the city, was beyond the comprehension of ordinary soldiers. The soldier's words did not comfort Guan Zong.

He knows best what he was like when he was young and at his peak.

Compare that to now?

Even Guan Zong himself felt it was not presentable.

He looked at the slender boy's figure on the wall.

"well--"

The thought of the numerous restraints on Xingxiu Huanying made Guan Zong's lips twitch involuntarily. He knew his strength was limited, and he knew he was indeed weak, but he didn't expect to be this pathetic. No wonder Guan Si wasn't afraid of him at all.

"When will we be able to regain our former glory?"

He can't be unable to make a living for the rest of his life, can he?

As Guan Zong lamented the passing of his youth, the general in charge of guarding the granary was already furious, with one bad news after another.

But, to my utter surprise, things got even worse.

While soldiers were concentrating their forces to salvage the grain supplies, they noticed that the water level in low-lying areas was rising and showing no signs of draining. Within an hour, the water had reached above the calves. This wasn't just happening near the granaries; severe flooding had spread to streets throughout the city. An urgent investigation revealed that several important drainage outlets were blocked by stones of varying sizes.

These bricks and stones were also the main cause of poor drainage in the city.

"You brat!"

It's obvious who did it without even having to guess.

Rescue efforts will take time, and the damage to the grain silo is even more severe.

Hidden in the shadows, Guan Zong watched the chaotic scene of the granary guards scrambling around, and rubbed his chin. "Next time I go out to war, I can't leave the granary in the city. If we encounter a rainstorm of this magnitude, the grain won't be safe."

It would be best to build the granary on the mountain.

Even the most powerful flood can't submerge mountains.

However, considering that building granaries on the mountain would increase transportation and manpower costs and make them vulnerable to being burned by the enemy, Guan Zong had to suppress the idea. With their lord Zhang Yang, a heretic, there was no need to worry about the logistics of granaries without dividing their troops.

The flooding of the city has problems beyond just one grain depot.

The excrement of commoners and poultry all mixed in the water. Even if the floodwaters recede after a day or two, the commoners and soldiers in the city will not have clean drinking water and will be very susceptible to diarrhea, high fever and other serious illnesses. Add to that the problem of food and fodder... tsk, this is enough to give Sun Ban a headache for a while.

Guan Zong's lips curled into a cold smile.

For some unknown reason, he turned and ordered, "I will draft the military report myself. Do not reveal a single word about this to anyone."

"Yes, General."

Although no one knew why Guan Zong suddenly made such a request, no one objected. Military reports were usually drafted by clerks and shown to Guan Zong before being submitted to the lord. The general's desire to write them himself reduced the workload of the clerks.

Little did they know that Guan Zong had a deeper meaning behind his actions.

If a naive young man were to write it, and that young man, eager to claim credit, reported every single detail, things would go awry. What if the lord, too, felt sympathy for the affected commoners in the city? Guan Zong would not only fail to gain anything but would also be reprimanded.

In that case, we should give full play to the principle of appropriate detail.

What needs to be simplified should be simplified, and what needs to be emphasized should be described in detail.

hehe--

He calls this taking precautions.

Because Guan Zong's side was acting simultaneously with the main force, Sun Ban was unaware that the location of the granary had been exposed and that the granary was in imminent danger, let alone that his own camp was also facing an imminent crisis.

Not only was Sun Ban unaware, but Wang Ba was also unclear about it.

That night, torrential rain and floods masked most of the activity.

Wang Ba was polishing his sword inside the tent, while his trusted aide paced anxiously beside him. Sun Ban wanted to act first, but Wang Ba couldn't give a warning, which made his aide uneasy. Especially tonight, his heart was pounding with anxiety.

"Do you want to stop?"

Wang Ba's eyes hurt from being shaken by his confidant.

"How can you remain seated at this critical juncture, my lord?"

Wang Ba sheathed his sword and said calmly, "You have to sit still, even if you can't. Sun Ban isn't blind. If he saw you fidgeting like this, how could he not know there's something wrong with you?"

Confidant: "..."

Reluctantly, I sat back down in my original spot.

Only then did the confidant realize that his lord truly deserved to be called his lord, and that he himself could only serve as an assistant. This composure was truly remarkable.

The thunder overhead continued incessantly.

Just as his confidant was about to speak, Wang Ba raised his hand and pressed down on his shoulder, turning his gaze to the tent entrance. The two fell silent, and then a soldier announced that the visitor was one of Sun Ban's men.

"Greetings, Lord Hongtu."

Wang Ba: "Is there something your master wants to tell you?"

"Our lord has ordered that we will break camp a little later tomorrow, and we have come to inform Lord Hongtu in advance." Sun Ban's man glanced at the furnishings in the tent, and lowered his head slightly when his gaze met Wang Ba's. Perhaps because Wang Ba had acted too desperately and fiercely last time, Sun Ban's feelings towards this ally were somewhat complicated. He trusted him, but was also deeply wary of him—it was so late, and he was still discussing things with his confidant?

Wang Ba noticed the newcomer's subtle gaze.

"What's wrong? Is there something wrong with me?"

The visitor was taken aback by Wang Ba's straightforwardness and lack of tact, feeling awkward as if he had been caught red-handed: "There's no problem. It's just that it's so late, and Lord Hongtu is still having a late-night chat. Has my lord failed to provide adequate hospitality?"

Wang Ba said calmly, "There are shortcomings, but no women."

The visitor asked, "No women?"

Wang Ba retorted, "Otherwise what?"

The visitor: "..."

If I remember correctly, when Wang Ba first arrived, his lord Sun Ban subtly sent him beauties during the welcoming banquet. Because he wasn't sure of Wang Ba's preferences, both men and women were sent. However, Wang Ba returned all the women he sent.

Now you're coming to complain about your master's poor hospitality?

Wang Ba glanced at his confidant: "I was bored out of my mind with no women around, and I was just about to wash up and go to bed when you showed up?"

Why are his trusted confidants still in his tent at this hour?

Don't you have any self-awareness?

The confidant inwardly cursed Wang Ba as inhuman, but outwardly still had to cooperate, saying, "Why is our lord saying these things to outsiders?"

He managed to squeeze out a little bit of embarrassment and annoyance.

Wang Ba patted his back lightly, without even lifting his eyelids.

His smile carried a hint of ambiguity.

"Are you ashamed? What's there to be afraid of?"

His confidant felt goosebumps all over his body.

The newcomer fell into an awkward silence, inexplicably feeling embarrassed as if they had accidentally wandered into someone else's bed. They hastily made an excuse to get up and leave. Their retreating figure even gave the impression of fleeing in panic.

As soon as Sun Ban's men left, his confidants hurriedly hid, their eyes filled with fear.

Wang Ba: "...What kind of look is that?"

The confidant said, "This humble servant has a family."

"I also have a family, and that thing of mine hasn't worked for years, you know that, right?" Wang Ba initially thought it was because he wasn't good enough, but later he found out it was because of his heart condition, coupled with the influence of the Fiery Stars, which had made him abstinent for many years.

He never tried to hide the fact that he was incapable.

I don't know why my confidant is so nervous.

"...Then the lord cannot use me as a shield."

The confidant felt he was getting dirty, having made a huge sacrifice.

Wang Ba: "..."

Sun Ban was equally speechless.

She hadn't expected this outcome. She had no interest in knowing who Wang Ba was having an affair with. However, since Wang Ba had taken the initiative to ask, she said, "Since he's asked for it, I'll find him someone tomorrow to shut him up."

"My lord is being far too lenient with Wang Hongtu."

A lecherous old man casually mentioned wanting to give away a beautiful woman?

Sun Ban: "Whether he has the life to collect it or not depends on whether he has the life to use it."

Even if Wang Ba is the ruler of a powerful force, he will still die when his time comes. On the battlefield, amidst the clash of swords, who knows when their life will end? Sending someone away will keep Wang Ba in check for a while; this deal is very worthwhile for Sun Ban, a win-win situation.

She stared at the map illuminated by candlelight inside the tent.

Q: "Leaving aside Wang Hongtu, how are the troop preparations going?"

"We can capture the camp on time tomorrow."

Sun Ban: "How should Wang Hongtu arrange his troops?"

"Together with the Central Army."

Sun Ban nodded upon hearing this, and carefully checked all the reported details again, not daring to miss a single mistake. His eyes grew dry, and he finally went to bed at the urging of his guards. In the latter half of the night, the thunder grew increasingly dense and noisy. Only a few candles stubbornly burned throughout the camp.

Wang Ba suddenly opened his eyes and stood up.

He hissed, "Guards!"

His movements startled the guards on either side.

"What are your orders, my lord?"

Wang Ba lowered his voice: "Silence, don't make a fuss. Let the strategist come and contact our people again. We're going to make a move tonight."

His trusted aide rushed over, throwing on his coat: "What is it now?"

Wang Badao said, "My son is nearby."

The trusted aide frowned: "Has the young lord contacted the master?"

Wang Ba shook his head in denial, got up and put on the armor he had just taken off. As he quickly put on the various parts, he replied, "No, it's my heart that's aching. She misses her son."

The confidant was speechless, yet knew that Wang Ba's judgment was correct.

"Perhaps Young Master came alone?"

"No, he brought men with him."

? ?|??w?`)