NFBE Chapter 623 Raising Private Soldiers
Chapter 623 Raising Private Soldiers
After they finally made their way over the mountain, they were surprised to find a completely different view on the other side.
The lush, dense forest vanished instantly, leaving only sparse, low-lying grass.
Some of the shadow guards had seen coal.
When Abu Niang described this, they also thought of this and immediately went ahead to scout the way.
Sure enough, a short while later, someone returned and whispered in Shen Ruyi's ear:
"Reporting to Master, it's confirmed. It's coal. This entire mountain is coal, and the reserves are quite substantial."
This is much larger and more extensive than the area we found last time, and much of it is exposed.
Yi Ren and Ying Wu walked on either side of Shen Ruyi, and they also heard the news.
They exchanged a glance, thinking to themselves that Ruyi (their master) was simply blessed by the god of luck, managing to discover this even during a simple bandit-suppression operation.
Discovering the private army and coal mining would be a tremendous achievement, either one.
They actually managed to run into each other at the same time; their luck is truly incredible.
The two were even eager to try it out; this was a really promising opportunity.
"Okay, I got it. Let's take care of other important matters first," Shen Ruyi thought to herself, her luck was just unbelievable.
Abu Niang noticed the expressions on these people's faces, but she wisely didn't ask any more questions and continued to lead the way.
Her thoughts were very simple; she didn't care about anything else, she just wanted her people to survive.
She also worked as her midwife.
Abu then asked, "Didn't they say we weren't allowed to enter the forbidden area? Is it alright for us to come here?"
“It’s alright,” Shen Ruyi replied this time, then asked, “How much further is it?”
"I don't know, I only tracked it up to the mountaintop I just passed."
I watched as our chieftain disappeared over the hill in front of us; he vanished without a trace.
As for how far beyond the mountain was or what lay beyond, I had no idea. Of course, I was afraid of being discovered, so I didn't dare go to check.
Abu Niang pointed to the hill in front of her; it was still quite a distance away.
Shen Ruyi sighed, realizing that she hadn't done anything else but go up and down the mountain these past two days.
The sun rose, and the swirling clouds gradually dissipated, revealing the scenery ahead in increasing clarity. To their surprise, one side of the road was a cliff.
What else can we do but keep climbing?
It was half an hour later when we finally reached the spot that Abu Niang had mentioned.
Hiding behind a boulder on the mountaintop, I looked down the mountain.
It turned out to be a very large basin with lush green meadows, and it looked especially beautiful from above.
Next to the neatly arranged houses, quite a few people were practicing their fighting moves.
Based on the people we've seen so far, there are definitely at least 18,000.
The charge of keeping a private army has now been definitively established.
Meanwhile, the mountains opposite were shrouded in mist, a truly beautiful sight. These people really know how to find a spot.
Shen Ruyi hadn't done anything yet, but Abu's mother's face turned pale. Guessing was one thing, but actually seeing it was another.
They cursed their chieftain a thousand times in their hearts, for dragging their village into an abyss for the sake of an outsider.
If I had known this would happen, I should have killed her when I was helping the former chieftain's wife give birth.
Instead of letting her live until now, allowing her to wreak havoc on her people, it's a pity there's no going back in this world.
When Abu saw this, he couldn't help but get excited; he hadn't expected it to be true.
Yi Ren guarded Shen Ruyi, and Ying Wu, wanting a better view, jumped and flew to the treetop.
I chose the highest point to try and get a clearer view.
Shadow 5's move completely stunned Abu Niang; it turns out these people are incredibly powerful.
Shen Ruyi didn't have time to pay attention to what others were thinking; she was pondering it in her mind.
First, send Shadow Sixteen with the token to summon troops. But we don't know if the nearby commander is loyal to the court or the Prince of Li's mansion.
But if we bypass these people, we don't have anyone else at our disposal. We can only take a gamble.
Let's see if he's after the wealth and glory promised by others, or if he's trying to save his own life.
At the same time, he wrote a letter to the government, asking him to take over the private soldiers and send people to mine the coal mine.
It also needs to be fast.
After Shadow Five and the others came down, Shen Ruyi called them together for a brief meeting to arrange the action plan and their respective responsibilities.
After arranging all this, Shen Ruyi said to Abu's mother, "Given your good performance, I promise I won't harm you, and I hope you..."
Before Shen Ruyi could finish speaking, Abu's mother immediately declared, "I understand, I understand, I know what to do. We won't hold you back. We'll do whatever you say and promise to be obedient."
Having finally heard a promise from the other party, I must seize it, otherwise what am I waiting for?
Even Abu, who was standing nearby, expressed his opinion, saying that he would not cause trouble or report the incident.
The boy was simply excited by what he saw and heard.
He wanted to see for himself how such a small group of people could manage and subdue so many others.
The group took out the dry rations they had brought and had a simple breakfast.
Shen Ruyi and Yiren stopped talking after a brief exchange, and then shared their portions of dry rations with the others.
After working all night and into the early morning, everyone was starving.
After finishing breakfast, Shadow Five apologized and sprinkled some medicine on the faces of Abu and his mother.
They were lifted up to a high branch of an ancient tree and tied up.
They also sprinkled some snake and insect repellent around them.
The goal is to ensure that the mother and daughter can both avoid causing trouble and survive safely.
The group set off again, splitting into several groups of two or three to act according to the established plan.
Shen Ruyi and Yiren stealthily made their way down into the valley below.
They found a relatively secluded spot, and Shen Ruyi took out some food, and the two of them had a late breakfast.
We took turns catching up on sleep until it got dark.
They are now in a location where they cannot proceed during the day; they would be easily discovered.
After all, they were at a high place, not a cliff-like height, but a gentle, gradual slope.
Looking up from below, it's very clear; you can say it's immediately obvious.
Shen Ruyi and Yiren were both extremely relaxed at this moment.
But things weren't so easy for Shadow Five and his group, because he discovered a path leading outside from the side.
The guards were tight enough, but what was more important was that he saw people returning on the narrow path outside the mountain.
I'm glad I was standing in a high enough position to see all of this.
He wasn't sure if these people had come in to tip him off, after all, they had taken care of several hundred private soldiers halfway through the journey last night.
After a brief discussion, the group decided to leave one person to keep an eye on the checkpoint.
Shadow Five, along with another companion, headed towards the narrow, winding path ahead.
To prevent any unforeseen complications, they planned to intercept and kill the people who had fallen in beforehand.
We mustn't let them get in touch.
They practically flew there in one breath, choosing a recessed ravine where they lay in ambush.
We waited for this group to arrive.
When the five men and horses all entered the mountain valley and approached Shadow Five and his group...
The two men acted simultaneously, instantly taking the lives of these men.
They searched him and found a letter still sealed, some silver, and some dry rations.
Dry rations were a real treasure at this time, and Shadow Five and his companion happily tucked them into their pockets.
Lunch is sorted out.
Otherwise, they would have to eat raw food if they couldn't make a fire.
I also unloaded the supplies from the horse and inspected them.
They discovered that the contents were medicines, but they only recognized a few of the herbs; the rest were completely unfamiliar.
They kept a few packets to take back and see what they were for, and pushed the rest, along with the corpses and horses, off the nearby cliff.
They created the illusion of someone falling, but who knows if anyone else will pass by after them.
Just as I finished cleaning up the scene and was about to leave, I heard footsteps and heavy breathing coming from the same place.
Because of the strong echoes in the mountain valley, even the slightest sound was amplified, making it very clear to them.
They immediately hid again.
Less than two minutes later, they saw a person covered in blood, looking like a beggar, crawling and tumbling towards them.
Are these the ones who slipped through the net last night? Those who were lying in ambush by the lake last night were dressed like this.
He remembered that they had all been killed, so how could there be any survivors? Whatever, just arrest them and interrogate them to find out.
The person who had barely escaped and came to warn others hadn't even had a chance to catch his breath before Shadow Five and his men knocked him unconscious.
A search revealed no letters or notes, which basically confirms that this was a fugitive who slipped through the net last night.
They carried the man into the mountains like a dead dog.
The other groups had also arrived long ago, and had scouted out most of the locations. They found a place to rest and recuperate, waiting for nightfall.
Shen Ruyi and Yiren took turns getting a good night's sleep, only waking up when it started to get dark.
They instantly felt refreshed and ate some bland but filling food.
Smoke rose gracefully from the campsite below, drifting upwards in wisps.
As the last rays of the setting sun faded, the sky was instantly transformed into a black curtain, pressing down heavily.
The soldiers who had been shouting battle cries stopped training and sat down with their bowls, waiting for their meal.
Just then, Shen Ruyi and Yiren flew towards the camp below.
They headed straight for the row of kitchens, and the two of them tiptoed onto the roof of the thatched hut.
Yi Ren provided cover and acted as lookout, while Shen Ruyi was responsible for spreading the medicine.
The kitchen was crowded with people, filled with steam and smoke, and noisy and chaotic.
I watched for a while and saw that there were more than forty large pots boiling at the same time, some steaming vegetable dumplings and others simmering vegetable soup.
This is difficult to spread; we can only spread as much as we can.
After some maneuvering, the two managed to spill about 70% of the soup, just over half full.
Other angles wouldn't work, as they would be too easy to spot. In a fit of anger, Shen Ruyi threw some medicine into the large water vat next to her.
To deal with the forgotten soup pots, the two secretly went to the front gate again, intending to wait for the rabbits to come to them.
They sprinkled the medicine again as they carried the large pot out. Shen Ruyi and Yiren carefully sprinkled the medicine once more.
Among the people carrying the large pot out, some noticed that some powder had fallen into the pot.
But since it was probably just dust that had fallen from the roof, it wasn't surprising.
I didn't think it was a big deal and didn't give it much thought.
It's already a stroke of luck to be able to fill your stomach even halfway here; who cares about whether it's clean or not?
And so, because Shen Ruyi wasn't sure which pot she had spilled the liquid from and which she hadn't, she had to do it all over again.
The medicine she applied this time was a muscle-relaxing powder, and she had carefully calculated the dosage.
It won't cause immediate symptoms after drinking it; it will last at least for 15-17 minutes.
However, with these repeated doses, the rate at which the attacks occur becomes difficult to estimate.
Finally, she was left to keep watch there in case of any unexpected situation.
Shen Ruyi went to the barracks not far away, fearing that there might be some who had slipped through the net.
The people queuing up not far away were all ordinary soldiers; Shen Ruyi didn't see a single general-like figure, indicating that they weren't eating together.
After searching through the rows of barracks, they actually found some who had slipped through the net.
Shen Ruyi, of course, didn't hold back at all and gave these slip-ups some medicine. What others have, you should have too.
After walking around like this, everyone's fighting spirit was completely depleted.
Finally, they arrived at the most magnificent house, where a general was leading several of his favorite generals in a private meal.
They ate and ate with wine and meat, bragging loudly.
Perhaps because it was their own territory, they were so confident in their hiding place that they thought no one could find it, and didn't even arrange for someone to guard the door.
This was convenient for Shen Ruyi.
Even from a distance, you could smell the aroma of food and wine, as well as the crisp sound of glasses clinking, coming from inside the house.
Holding his breath, he tiptoed to a window, took a long tube, and blew the confinement powder inside.
The window was a bit far from the dining table, so Shen Ruyi, worried that the medicine wouldn't be effective enough, put in an extra tube.
Then he squatted under the window and waited for the drug to take effect.
What she didn't tell anyone was that her body was already immune to all poisons.
To protect this secret from being discovered, she never hesitated to take the antidote in front of outsiders.
However, after each dose, she would find an opportunity to drink a cup of spiritual spring water to counteract the poison, a fact that even Yiren herself was unaware of.
Then a voice came from inside the room, "Oh no, why do I suddenly feel so weak?"
"Oh no, me too."
"General, me too."
"Guards! Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
……
But no one outside responded to them.
Then came the sounds of wine bowls hitting the ground, heavy objects falling to the ground, and other impacts.
"The drinks and food are poisoned, and I have no strength left. What about you?"
"We are the same. How about you, General?"
"Are you blind? How could I possibly recover? I wonder which bastard dared to harm me. Once I recover, I'll tear him to pieces."
"Damn it, I've been hunting geese all my life, and now a goose has pecked my eye out!"
"Is anyone outside? Someone come here, can anyone hear me?"
A sound of cursing and swearing came from inside.
Shen Ruyi patiently waited for these people to call for a while longer, but not a single one came over.
Only then did he leisurely and swagger in.
There were five people inside, and the one in the highest position should be the general they were talking about.
Upon seeing Shen Ruyi's arrival, he asked, "Who are you? How did you find your way here?"
"Do you know who we are?"