My lord, spare his life!

A dead skinny camel is bigger than a horse.

Before the power struggle between Zhao Chai and Qin Huang is resolved, the royal family of Dou Kingdom still has a reason to exist; this alone allows the royal family to survive in the cracks. With Puyang Kui's strength, how could he possibly bypass both Qin and Zhao and single-handedly defeat the royal family?

We can only rely on the power of our lord.

Puyang Kui's words were both sincere and self-serving. Zhang Yang's achievement of a lasting empire also meant that she could seek revenge; the two were not contradictory, so why wouldn't she agree? She would suppress her hatred until the heads of everyone in the royal family were laid out before the graves of her loved ones!

Zhang Yang gently stroked the back of Puyang Kui's neck.

"In my eyes, Cointreau is also very important."

Puyang Kui was unaccustomed to such intimate gestures; goosebumps rose on her skin, and an indescribable tingling and soreness spread from that spot to her limbs, causing her mind to go blank for a moment. When she finally came to her senses from this strange tremor, she was already in her tent.

She sat up, feeling confused.

The blanket that was neatly covering her body slipped off.

Puyang Kui clutched the back of his neck while calling for his personal guards.

The guard lifted the curtain and entered. Puyang Kui saw the pitch-black sky reflected through the gap; she remembered losing consciousness just past noon. She asked the guard, "Who removed my armor?"

The guard replied, "Yes, sir."

Puyang Kui then asked, "How long have I been unconscious?"

Guard: "Fifteen hours."

Puyang Kui's muddled mind suddenly cleared, and he was stunned: "What? I slept for a whole day? Did the lord send me back?"

"Yes, the Prefect said that the General has been too tired these days and will be sleeping for a long time. He told the General to sleep until he wakes up naturally and instructed me not to disturb him unless it is important." Puyang Kui stood up unsteadily. Although her limbs still felt weak from lying down for a long time, she clearly felt much lighter. The discomfort that her limbs had been blocked by stagnant qi and her heart qi had disappeared without a trace.

Puyang Kui: "Where is our lord now?"

Guard: "Still in the camp."

Puyang Kui was knocked unconscious by Zhang Yang, so someone had to take his place.

Zhang Yang rolled up his sleeves and got to work with great enthusiasm.

At dawn, the soldiers would inspect the camp, count the number of soldiers, check for any deserters or absentees, observe how the soldiers were training, select a few lucky ones to test their martial arts skills, and provide guidance to the soldiers in martial arts. In the morning, they would check the accounts for the first half of the month's equipment wear and tear, food and ration consumption, charcoal and medicine, and inquire about any conflicts, fights, disturbances, or bullying among the soldiers from the previous day. In the afternoon, they would supervise the soldiers' training, demonstrating multi-soldier coordinated operations in simulated terrain, and also check on another battalion's soldiers to learn how to cooperate in repairing watchtowers and digging trenches.

After we finished doing all that, it started to get dark.

Zhang Yang also conducted night patrols to check whether the soldiers were on duty diligently and to catch those who were drinking or slacking off in private. After the moon was high in the sky, he would light candles to study military books and strategies, deduce the terrain, and simulate the attack and defense between the enemy and his own forces before finally washing up and going to bed.

Zhang Yang felt his stamina tingling just looking at the schedule.

Is this how your general does it every day?

[This is the way it is every day, especially after the devastating news from home. The general is getting less than two hours of sleep a night, and even her personal guards on duty have fallen ill. I want to comfort her, but the general… she doesn't say it, but she's in pain. She can only keep herself busy with military affairs, leaving no time to think about anything else. A few of us are willing to risk our lives to stay with her, but the ordinary soldiers can't withstand such harshness. During drills, they get distracted and make mistakes, and fearing the general's severe punishment, several soldiers have already deserted overnight.]

So Zhang Yang gave the soldiers half a day off.

In the afternoon, I instructed the soldiers in drills at the training ground.

The soldiers were initially worried that something was amiss, but when they heard that the Prefect was filling in for the General for a day, they were all filled with regret. In fact, they weren't that tired, and it was a rare opportunity for the Prefect to see the results of their months of hard training, but they missed it.

Zhang Yang couldn't handle it all by himself.

They sent someone to borrow Du's house from the neighboring hill.

Du Fang laughed and said, "It's still the Prefect who can control Puyang Jundu. If she does things her way, even a person made of iron would be exhausted."

Zhang Yang raised his hand: "Nothing special, just skillful hands!"

Du Fang immediately knew what the trick was and couldn't help but smile.

"That's definitely the only way to control him." Du Fang had never actually fought Puyang Kui before, so he wasn't confident he could force someone to shut down and go to sleep. Besides, his rank wasn't as high as Puyang Kui's, so if things got heated, Du Fang would suffer instead. So he simply ignored it.

With Du Fang's help, the day passed smoothly and peacefully.

Puyang Kui slept for nearly thirty hours straight.

"Your dark circles have faded a bit." Zhang Yang pointed to the reduced dark circles under her eyes and said earnestly, "My friend once said that health is the foundation of everything. If your health collapses first, everything else is meaningless. Jun Du, what you're doing is not only self-harm but also irresponsible to your soldiers. I'm punishing you by suspending your military duties for three days to rest. Your duties will be handled by your deputy. If your deputy complains that you're disobedient, the suspension period will be extended by one day. Does Jun Du accept this?"

Puyang Kui said, "But..."

"If Count Du doesn't agree, we won't take you to war."

Puyang Kui quickly straightened his expression and said, "This subordinate obeys."

Zhang Yang gently stroked the back of Puyang Kui's hand.

This intimate gesture almost triggered a shock in the latter—the last time they were this intimate, she fell into a deep sleep for fifteen hours without realizing it!

Fortunately, this time it didn't happen.

"Good Jundu, rest well and I'll take you to wipe out your entire enemy family!" Zhang Yang maintained his usual expressionless face, his tone as natural as if he were simply remarking on the fine weather. To others, it sounded like a chilling murderous aura, but to Puyang Kui, it was like a divine decree.

"it is good."

[Puyang Kui's favorability towards you increases by three.]

[Puyang Kui's favorability towards you increases by ten.]

Zhang Yang glanced at her friend list; Puyang Kui's overall favorability rating for her jumped from 70 to 83. Among his many followers, Puyang Kui's favorability rating increased quite slowly. This was partly due to Zhang Yang being away fighting and Puyang Kui staying home, resulting in less time spent together compared to others; but it was also due to Puyang Kui's own personality and stance—introverted, slow to warm up, and very reserved.

The thicker the defenses in someone's heart, the harder they are to break through.

"Humans are really strange creatures."

Why is observing samples so simple?

Zhang Yang suspects that they may not be a single species.

As a ruler with limited education, Zhang Yang didn't actually have many political affairs to handle personally. To outsiders, it might seem like Fan You and others were conspiring to sideline Zhang Yang, but those within the group knew their own situation; no one had the power to remove the ruler who controlled the core finances.

Therefore, Zhang Yang is quite free right now.

With a moment to herself, she flipped through her memos.

She remembered that she hadn't settled accounts with the brat yet.

She had only been away working for a few months, and her children had already become unruly. Did they really think that if there were no tigers in the mountains, the monkeys could become kings? Zhang Yang moved with steps that no one could hear, like a ghost, traversing every corner of the county seat, keeping a watchful eye on things.

"What are you doing?"

Zhang Yang squatted on the pole, looking down at the pole and asking questions.

Her sudden voice startled the commoners below, who had been peacefully relieving themselves. They turned pale and hurriedly pulled up their belts. A surge of anger rose within them: "Which little brat dared to interfere with the old...Lord?"

Zhang Yang pointed to the roadside toilet more than 20 meters away.

"Your leg is broken, and you can't even walk this short distance?"

The man's legs went weak with fear. He clutched his waistband, stammering and blushing. Zhang Yang said sternly, "According to the rules, you go to the county government to pay the fine. If you don't see the money by tomorrow, I'll send ten burly men to your house and use it as a public toilet."

Man: "...Yes, yes."

Looking up again, there was no trace of Zhang Yang on the pole.

He dared not take any chances, and without even changing into a clean pair of pants, he approached the county patrol officers and awkwardly paid the fine. Turning his head, he saw a figure that looked exactly like the prefect kicking someone into a corner and making him sit on a steaming pile of dung.

"Are street toilets really that hard to find?"

"Do you just pick any spot in your house to relieve yourself?"

Although Zhang Yang always maintained a blank expression, some people could still discern the subtle differences beneath that expression—whether it was relaxation, pleasure, displeasure, or fury. At this moment, he was clearly furious.

After walking half a distance, Zhang Yang kicked a passing dog away.

The dog stood up unharmed, though it seemed a little dazed.

"Whose dog goes off-leash, doesn't poop, and pees everywhere?"

Walking to the street, Zhang Yang grabbed a passerby's arm and twisted it behind their back: "Stealing?"

The victim then realized that his purse was missing.

Zhang Yang passed by an alley and craned his neck to peek inside. There, more than thirty people with green and yellow names were gathered, standing close together. The names above their heads weren't the most common "passerby" or "commoner," but rather "gambler," "thug," "desperate gambler," "gambler blinded by greed," "poor child," and so on…

She appeared on the wall like a ghost.

Separated by a wall, outside was a bustling street, inside were several gambling tables and gamblers gathered around them. In various corners sat several dejected-looking, shifty-eyed thugs. In one corner, a middle-aged man with bloodshot eyes, dragging two children—one big and one small—like a chick in one hand, fawned, "Boss, how much do you think these two kids are worth? Give them whatever you think is fair, I won't mind."

The steward asked him, "Were you kidnapped?"

"How could I dare to kidnap my own child?"

The manager was a burly man with fierce features and a pair of triangular eyes that made people feel intimidated. She clicked her tongue and said disdainfully, "Didn't you sell two children a while ago? How come you have two more? If these two children aren't from a clean background, you know the rules."

The gambler bowed his hands several times in succession.

"No, no, I wouldn't dare."

The supervisor's gaze swept over the two children.

He gestured with his chin towards one of the thugs: "Take him away."

He counted out a pile of yuan coins and tossed them to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man weighed the money in his hand, his face beaming as he squeezed towards the gambling table. The other gamblers, familiar with him, couldn't help but laugh when they saw that the man who had recently been kicked out of the casino had money to gamble again. "Didn't you tell your wife you'd never gamble again? How come you have money again?"

"Mind your own business."

"You sold her family's incense offerings, and she didn't even kill you."

"If you anger me, I'll sell her out."

"Haha, if you were really capable of selling her, you wouldn't have been beaten so badly that you were crawling on the ground, crying and begging her to go easy on you."

A group of gamblers burst into laughter.

The middle-aged man's face flushed red with anger, not from shame. If his wife hadn't gone to find their sold child, he wouldn't have been able to get out; he would have been beaten to death long ago. If he could just break even today and buy the child back from the casino, everything would be fine.

The steward tapped on the table.

He warned, "Keep your voice down, or the patrolmen will find you."

All the gambling dens in Weiyin's area were shut down, and everyone from the owners to the thugs went to jail. After their labor reform terms were completed, most of them couldn't adapt to the honest way of making money and started to go back to their old ways, playing hide-and-seek with the county government. The county government had few people, while the people in the prefecture were getting bigger and bigger, a mixed bag, making it a headache to manage, let alone send a large number of people to crack down on underground casinos.

This gambling den was deliberately located next to a bustling area.

The principle of "the darkest place is under the lamp" proved effective.

It ran smoothly for more than two months.

The steward, in a good mood, started working on the abacus and reached for the ledger beside him. Before his hand even reached out, the ledger was already within reach. The steward assumed it was one of the more astute henchmen: "Hmph, good eye."

"Then I should thank you?"

The steward paused in his work with the abacus beads.

The entire casino fell silent for a moment.

Cold sweat streamed down the foreheads of the thugs and gamblers.

The speaker appeared abruptly, leaning against the table with one hand.

The young woman, dressed in a red robe with gold trim, looked out of place in the smoky casino. She glanced around, her black ponytail cascading down her back, a section of hair falling like a waterfall onto the table. With her other hand, she twirled an accessory at her waist.

Her voice was clear and crisp: "Huh, are they all mute?"

Just then, the door was smashed open with a thud, leaving two holes, which were then crushed by bird claws. Two bird heads peered in from the left and right.

Zhang Daji and Zhang Dagu jumped in, flanking the casino from both sides.

The all-seeing creature shrunk in size and stood steadily on the boy's shoulder.

Zhang Yang: "Let's all go."

How could these people keep up with her speed in relaying information?

Underground casinos are easy to find.

When Xu Jin returned, the county government was packed with people.

"What happened?"

Has the county government been captured?

"Reporting to Your Excellency, this was captured by the Prefect from the gambling den."

Xu Jin roughly counted, and the line stretched from one end of the county government building to the other, estimating to be around two hundred people. The confiscated gambling money filled three boxes. Upon opening them, they were filled with loose silver and yuan coins. Xu Jin asked, "Your Excellency, have you raided Wei Yin's entire underground gambling den?"

This efficiency is enough for the county government officials to work for two or three months.

These people in the casino are cunning, even more slippery than eels.

They would disappear at the slightest sign of trouble, and they would even bribe local commoners to act as their informants, which gave Xu Jin a headache.

To everyone's surprise, the Prefect arrested them all in half a day.

County official: "The city has been ransacked. The prefect said that the people in the villages outside the city and those hiding in the mountains will be brought over later."

Xu Jin: "..."

The county official said, "The prefect said he would deal with this severely."

Several casinos also secretly control anywhere from a few to a dozen prostitutes and male prostitutes outside the city. These controlled people appear to be ordinary people, but they are all watched by thugs and have no personal freedom, let alone the ability to escape and report to the county government.

Xu Jin covered his head in shame: "Heavenly Bodhisattva."

He wished he could go and apologize to the prefect with a bundle of thorns on his back.

County official: "Sir, this prison is not enough."

There wasn't even enough time to build temporary repairs.

Zhang Yang had several mounts, including Zhang Daji's, and could tour the Weiyin County seat two or three times in half a day. She didn't need to pinpoint the location of the casino; she only needed to look at the density of green-named individuals. An abnormally high density definitely indicated something was amiss, and looking at the green-named titles, it was almost certainly true!

Efficiency is naturally high!

Xu Jin looked at the county government building, which was now completely packed with people.

He said to the owner of the casino with the most gambling funds that had been seized, "What's the use of your painstaking efforts and careful accumulation of wealth over the past few months? You won't last a single round against the magistrate. Go in and reflect on your actions, repent and turn over a new leaf, and try to be a new person when you come out."

They all forget the lessons learned.

Have you forgotten how the casino was violently shut down more than half a year ago?

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