UCTOOT CH77

Behind him, Xu Siliang looked at Xie Wuchi in his chair and pondered: “My lord…”

“Second Young Master, should we send someone to follow?”

Xie Wuchi sat upright, straightening his cuffs: “Let him be.”

“Then about Feng Chongshan…”

Xie Wuchi propped himself up from the chair and said: “The Northern Min’s King Moyu is moving troops toward Yunzhou. This time, let’s see how he responds. If he’s still full of petty schemes, I will naturally petition His Majesty.”

Shi Shu left the central military camp. On his way to find Song Sinan, he encountered large numbers of displaced refugees being driven along. They traveled with their families, wives and children in tow, carrying simple bundles through clouds of dust.

The crowd was in chaos, with occasional sounds of children crying, uncles shouting, and women speaking in hushed tones. Groups of people were being driven forward, but their faces actually looked quite happy, whispering and discussing among themselves.

At the Chou Army camp, Song Sinan was striding out, waving his hand: “Come on, escort these refugees to the military farming colony.”

Shi Shu: “Are you talking about those groups of people we saw on the road today?”

“Exactly, exactly,” Song Sinan put on his white robe and silver armor, looking mature beyond his years. “Since those Min dogs started war with us last year, you know, the refugees surviving in the cracks have had the hardest time. The discrimination, insults, and beatings they suffer in Min territory are even worse. More and more people are fleeing south.”

Shi Shu followed him to the refugee resettlement camp. Song Sinan said: “But it’s not a solution when people just flee here, right? You have to feed and clothe these commoners. Otherwise, when people go hungry, chaos will arise, even rebellion. Other officials are afraid the refugees will cause trouble and refuse to take them in. Only our Lord Xie has taken in these hundreds of thousands of people, resettling them in military farming colonies to open up wasteland and farm, to make their own living—”

Lowering his voice: “It can also provide grain for the Crane Control Army.”

Shi Shu looked up at these ragged refugees, memories surfacing: Arrows pursued them in waves, horses’ hooves and curved swords waved viciously, people carrying bundles cried and screamed, crossing the frozen Tea River to return home.

Swords hung overhead, but they couldn’t stop the refugees’ journey home.

“Those willing to join the army are taken in; other commoners are sent to military farming colonies for unified control, to prevent spies.”

A small child saw them, ran up smiling, speaking Min language but with the features of a Great Jing person. The child took Shi Shu’s hand. Shi Shu patted his head: “Go play by yourself.”

Song Sinan watched the child with a smile: “Little brat, in two years he’ll be speaking Great Jing language.”

Shi Shu laughed. Song Sinan handed him a book: “Qi Min Yao Shu, can you read it or not? When we get to the farming colony, we’ll have to help them open up wasteland and farm!”

Shi Shu got on the carriage, leaning against the swaying crossbeam: “Who are you looking down on? Who can’t read and write?”

Shi Shu read for a while, then handed it to Du Zihan: “Graduate student, read this.”

Du Zihan: “Me? Me?”

“Hahahahaha!”

Speechless, two illiterates really have nothing to say.

Warm sunlight shone in their eyes as the group set out along the main road. Shi Shu looked at the military camps stretching for hundreds of li. In a year and a half, all this was under Xie Wuchi’s command. Not the entire world, but among the visible land, Xie Wuchi was the sole master.

Commander-in-Chief, the supreme military leader of Great Jing’s northern war zone. Xie Wuchi, as a young and strong faction who rose through military merit, his meteoric rise was hinting to the world—through civil and military governance, military power already held a heavy position. Whoever could keep winning battles would have immense wealth and glory, supreme authority, and majestic dignity.

Heaven’s timing, Earth’s advantage, People’s harmony. As fellow transmigrators, Xie Wuchi had actually, in just over two years, incited disasters, provoked wars, changed dynasties, conspired to help replace the emperor, and achieved his current position of unwavering favor and power at home and abroad.

Shi Shu couldn’t help but sigh: “Xie Wuchi, you truly…”

Song Sinan, driving the carriage, said: “If the war continues, grain will eventually become scarce. Grain still depends on the court’s support, which makes you subject to others. If they withhold grain, they can control your army. So developing military farming colonies to store your own grain is the best thing, giving higher initiative in warfare.”

The carriage jolted, and Shi Shu steadied himself against the wooden board, thinking: “Another reason is probably that Xie Wuchi is developing his own base, breaking away from court control, waiting for the right time to declare independence?”

No matter what—Shi Shu’s sleeve was tugged. The child who only spoke Min language earlier was back, picking up a stone to give him.

Shi Shu: “What are you doing? Little thing.”

The child pointed at the stone, threw it forward, and looked at Shi Shu proudly. Shi Shu looked at him and noticed his ear was partially missing. He didn’t know what had happened—perhaps a misfortune during his wandering.

Shi Shu jumped down from the carriage: “Brother here is originally a very kind person who loves children~ But since you insist on competing with me and provoking me, I can only show you some color.”

The child picked up a small stone and threw it again with all his might, about ten meters away, happily chattering a long string of Min language. Shi Shu hitched up his pants, gripped a stone, while Du Zihan and Song Sinan watched the excitement: “What are you doing? Don’t bully a child.”

Shi Shu gathered his strength in a standard throwing motion and hurled the stone. Du Zihan directly exclaimed “What the hell!” and chased it with his eyes for a long time: “Where the hell did you get such endless bull strength? How far did you throw that? I can’t even see it!”

Song Sinan looked into the distance: “You threw it so far?!”

The two made sounds of absolute admiration. Shi Shu shaded his eyes with his hand and looked, then turned around with a grin: “Not bad. Kid, practice on your own. Come find me when you can throw that far.”

Then, as soon as Shi Shu finished speaking, the child burst into tears with a “Wah!”

“Holy crap! Whose kid is this, crying? Where are his parents? Come quickly and comfort him.” Shi Shu panicked.

Several people laughed until tears came out: “Look at you, bullying a child for what?”

Chatting and laughing along the way, they arrived at the military farming colony. Military farming colonies have existed since ancient times—opened in chaotic times, abandoned in prosperous times. After all, ancient military households were the lowest class; nine out of ten military households were empty, having all fled. Since last year, Xie Wuchi has been reopening military farming colonies, allowing refugees to reconnect with the land. Sometimes, they even have to open up wasteland.

“This large area of land in Changze County is mostly abandoned, overgrown with wild grass and trees. We need to reclaim all this land.” Song Sinan stood on high ground to mobilize: “This way, you’ll have new homes, new fields, understand?”

The refugee leaders listened to the propaganda and nodded.

Shi Shu saw everyone take out farming tools, knives, axes, ropes, and start cutting trees, digging ground, and cutting grass. This was called opening up wasteland. In ancient times, most land was covered with wild grass, and turning barren land into fertile farmland required time to cultivate.

After humans learned to farm, life became more stable.

And settling down is almost everyone’s pursuit.

Shi Shu saw that most were indeed very happy and started working with enthusiasm.

Song Sinan said: “We’ll probably have to live here for a few days. Let’s build houses first.”

That being said.

Although he was deeply moved, Shi Shu still felt like a savage when cutting banana trees with a knife.

Like those humans in documentaries who build wooden shelters to survive in the wild.

All vegetation had to be cut down. Shi Shu dealt with this banana tree, brown sap sticking all over his body, impossible to wash off. Shi Shu scratched his head, looking at the thousand or so people who came, scattered across this overgrown plain, all working with their heads down.

Shi Shu felt a sense of unity, drive, and pride in collective labor. He wondered if anyone understood.

Shi Shu chopped trees while muttering. The banana leaves were full of dew, shaking it all over him. Finally, after cutting down the tree, there was a string of green bananas on top. Shi Shu carried it back to the campsite.

A group of people were building sheds with wood. Obviously, this was everyone’s residence during the reclamation period.

Shi Shu ate a string of bananas, said nothing, and handed them to Song Sinan and Du Zihan: “Delicious, try it.”

The two took a bite, “Ugh!” and vomited against the wooden wall. When they looked up again, Shi Shu had already run a hundred thousand miles away, his clear laughter floating in the air “Hahahahaha!”

“Shi Shu! You!”

Savage.

Simply a savage.

Shi Shu thought as he ran through the grass.

There was a stream nearby. In the evening, people cooked meals. Shi Shu went downstream to bathe. At night, lying in the campsite, everyone slept together on very simple bedding. But having many people was great. At night, they still burned fire pits. Chou Army generals stood guard on patrol, while common folk sat by the fire holding children and talking, or dozing off.

By the third day of reclamation, the camp was almost completely set up, and everyone had shelter. Song Sinan’s group also had to return. Shi Shu went back with the convoy. Everyone needed good rest. Then they saw a guard peeking around outside the camp.

Song Sinan asked: “Big brother, what’s wrong?”

The guard’s eyes were on Shi Shu: “The Lord sent us to look several times, asking when the Second Young Master will return…”

Song Sinan quickly pushed Shi Shu: “Go back quickly, your brother is looking for you.”

Along with Du Zihan’s stifled laughter.

Shi Shu tugged at his pants leg, knowing what he was thinking. He turned and followed the guard: “Alright, got it. Let’s go back.”

Shi Shu fell into a moment of silence, thinking about facing Xie Wuchi. The good mood from reclamation quieted again, but he might as well go with the flow.

Shi Shu’s youthful face was handsome and fair, but his body was messy, hardly having had a good rest. Entering Xie Wuchi’s tent, he wasn’t there, so he asked others to bring hot water and soaked properly in a wooden barrel.

Perhaps too exhausted, Shi Shu actually fell asleep leaning on the barrel. When he regained consciousness, he heard a soft call “Shi Shu.”

“Huh?” Shi Shu opened his eyes. Xie Wuchi stood near the screen, which was painted with a thousand-mile river and mountains, clouds and mist, creating a sense of vastness and depth. Xie Wuchi’s sleeves and collar also had patterns that complemented it.

Xie Wuchi lowered his eyes and said: “Soaking too long isn’t good. You’ll get dizzy and chest tightness.”

Shi Shu yawned and stood up. Unexpectedly, his legs were numb, and he suddenly fell back into the water with an “Ouch!” The water covered his nasal cavity and he coughed. Shi Shu had just reached out to splash when his arm was held by a hand, helping him lean on the barrel edge.

Shi Shu said angrily: “Damn!”

Xie Wuchi’s hand was still very hot. After helping Shi Shu up, he stepped back, placing the clothes hanging on the screen on a stool by the barrel for easy reach. He said: “I’m going out.”

Shi Shu put on his clothes in a hurry. When he walked into the tent, dishes of food were being served one after another, much more abundant than a few days ago, with clear stewed meat and vegetables. Xie Wuchi seemed to have just returned from outside, his whole body exuding a murderous aura. Looking closely, his body was still stained with blood spots.

Shi Shu really didn’t know what to say to him. What Xie Wuchi had done to him—if they had severed ties, they could still smile politely. But now their identities were bound together, inevitably full of discord, many irreconcilable things.

Shi Shu buried his head in eating, feeling like he was in a cold war with Xie Wuchi like a married couple.

But Xie Wuchi wasn’t silent. Occasionally, he put food in Shi Shu’s bowl: “Braised spare ribs. I transferred the cook from the city to make food for you.”

His wrist was usually in his sleeve, but when he changed out of his wide-sleeved leisure robe, the gauze-wrapped wrist bones were exceptionally obvious. Shi Shu couldn’t help but look a few more times and asked: “What’s with your hand?”

Xie Wuchi said: “The wound at the time didn’t look good, so I’ve been covering it.”

Shi Shu scratched his fluffy head, not knowing what to say again. After eating and washing up, he lay on Xie Wuchi’s bed. The pillow always had a smell of Chinese herbs, which could be identified as calming and sleep-aiding. It was clear Xie Wuchi’s sleep wasn’t good.

It used to be good, why not now?

Shi Shu lay in bed. Perhaps because he slept during the bath, he lay with his eyes open, unable to sleep, thinking about the system again. What did Xie Wuchi really mean to him?

As a man with no blood relation to him, how much could he give up for him? Even now, he still found those words “I love you” a bit absurd.

Shi Shu just lay like this. In the latter half of the night, Xie Wuchi finally returned behind the screen, organizing his clothes to retire. His fingers were bony and slender, untying his outer robe and placing it by the head of the bed. Shi Shu stared at this scene of him undressing, his back inexplicably tingling.

After a moment, Shi Shu had a question and blurted it out: “Xie Wuchi.”

Xie Wuchi: “Hmm?”

Shi Shu: “Are you the top?”

Author’s note:

Shi Shu begins to seriously think about climbing into bed: No, bro, the difficulty is this high?

Thank you for the nutrient solution, thank you, babies!

Also, Shi Shu had three reasons for leaving Xie Wuchi at that time: First, Xie Wuchi provoked war and didn’t refute Zhao Shirui’s massacre of the city, his nature is cold; second, Xie Wuchi had induced other transmigrators to commit suicide and wanted to kill Du Zihan; third, Xie Wuchi’s initial purpose in knowing Xiao Shibao was to raise a blood bag for use, and the initial kindness was all a scam. So the barrier between them cannot be explained in one sentence. Even if explained, only guilt remains, and they need to start over. It’s hard for Shi Shu to say he has completely forgotten the past with Xie Wuchi, so this is his attitude. I won’t reply one by one anymore.

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