Chapter 407: Never Forget Why You Started

Heyun Prefecture, inside the military command tent!

Before a large walnut table, Yan Wuyong sat upright in his armor, and in front of him was a towering stack of scrolls piled like a small mountain.

Staring at the scrolls, Yan Wuyong sighed heavily and said, “We now occupy over a hundred counties across three prefectures. The consumption of grain is truly immense. With the constant natural disasters, it’s already difficult for us to be self-sufficient, and now we can’t even spare a single bit of food to continue the campaign.”

“Does anyone have a solution to this grain shortage?”

At these words, the tent fell into a dead silence.

After an unknown period, a middle-aged man in coarse hemp robes, sporting a goatee, stepped forward with a cupped-fist salute and said, “Monarch Yan, could we try finding that Mr. Gu again? Back then, had he not ordered people to provide us with sufficient gold, silver, and grain, we wouldn’t have established ourselves in the Meng River region so quickly.”

At that, Yan Wuyong furrowed his brows and replied sternly, “Advisor Liu, the food and money Mr. Gu gave us back then was meant to be distributed to the displaced people—not for our military campaigns…”

“Besides, who do you think Mr. Gu is? You think we can just find him whenever we want?”

Hearing this, Advisor Liu continued, “Then perhaps we could have the people within our counties tighten their belts a bit. Once we’ve stored up enough provisions, we can march out again?”

“No!” Yan Wuyong rejected loudly. “We rose in revolt back then because of Great Wu’s oppressive taxes and harsh governance—we had no choice. If we now ask the people to scrimp and starve, how are we any different from those corrupt Great Wu officials who preyed on the common folk?”

“This…” Advisor Liu hesitated, then said, “Monarch Yan, we’re all commoners by birth and know the people’s hardships. But if we don’t continue to expand and bring down Great Wu entirely, once they recover and make their preparations, the Meng River region will suffer their fiercest crackdown…”

“Monarch Yan is indeed extraordinary, but the enemy has the Golden Guard, with cultivation strength that ordinary people can’t resist…”

“Defending one place might work for a short time, but in the long run, the outcome for us—and for the people of the Meng River region—may not be good…”

Advisor Liu’s words were unpleasant but reflected the harsh reality the Yan Southern Army faced.

Though the army’s strength largely relied on Monarch Yan alone, he still needed a force of able-bodied men to follow him into battle, to provide him with “killing intent,” so he could unleash his unstoppable axe technique.

Thus, the issue of grain was the most pressing. Without food, he couldn’t bring many men with him.

The Golden Guard of Great Wu weren’t fools either. That Grand Preceptor had already discovered through repeated attempts to surround and eliminate the Yan Southern Army that Monarch Yan possessed extraordinary martial arts.

Though they couldn’t defeat him head-on, they could gradually whittle down his men, thereby dulling the edge of his fearsome axe.

“How about borrowing a bit of grain from the people?”

“Yeah! Once we win, we’ll definitely repay the people!”

“Monarch Yan, sacrifices must be made. I think the advisor is right—we can’t trap ourselves here. If Great Wu recovers and comes at us with tens or even hundreds of times our numbers, we can’t withstand that kind of attrition…”

One by one, the armored generals stepped forward to support the suggestion, trying to persuade their leader to temporarily burden the people.

“Enough!” Yan Wuyong said coldly. “Once we start borrowing grain, we’ll never stop!”

“Didn’t these able-bodied men follow us into war so that their families could be fed and live better lives?”

“If we can’t find a way to get grain, that’s our own failure. We must not make the people suffer the consequences of our war!”

At those words, the atmosphere in the command tent grew somber. The generals and strategists all fell silent.

They had said their part—even if they knew it wouldn’t work, they had to try.

But knowing Yan Wuyong’s nature, they had already expected his response before even speaking…

“Report!”

“Monarch Yan!”

“Mr. Gu—Mr. Gu’s black-robed envoy has returned! It’s the Blaze Bug clan again!”

A voice urgently shouted from outside the tent.

“What!” Yan Wuyong shot up and strode out with large steps. The generals exchanged glances, eyes lighting up, and quickly followed after him.

When they followed the soldier all the way to the southern gate of Heyun Prefecture, what they saw left them speechless!

Outside the gate, on the vast open ground, two towering piles of provisions stood like mountains. Not only were they incredibly tall, but they extended far to the sides, covering a span of at least ten zhang.

Looking out, the tightly packed stacks of grain seemed like green waves, gently swaying in the breeze and rustling softly.

How had such a massive amount of grain been brought here so silently?

No one had time to ponder. Their minds were already filled with the immense relief brought by the sight of that much food.

Yan Wuyong stepped forward and cupped his hands respectfully to Blaze One, now back in his black-robed form. “Thank you, thank you Mr. Gu for this gift of grain.”

Blaze One smiled and replied, “No need for thanks. The reason you’re receiving grain a second time is because the first time, you truly used it all for the people.”

“Just don’t forget—this grain is meant for the people.”

Yan Wuyong replied solemnly, “I remember well. I would never dare keep even a single grain for myself!”

Blaze One nodded with a smile. “Good. No need to promise me. We won’t be monitoring you, but do remember—Mr. Gu is no ordinary being. If you take this grain and serve only yourselves, he’ll know it in an instant.”

“And by then, this food that filled your bellies… might just turn to poison in your guts.”

“But as things stand, you’ve done well…”

With that, Blaze One didn’t linger. He bid them farewell and walked off quickly.

“Take care, Sir Blaze!”

Yan Wuyong saluted, and the rest of the generals and advisors also bowed and shouted, “Safe travels, Blaze Bug Sir!”

Hearing the words “Sir Blaze” behind him, the black robe around Blaze One started to shake with excitement.

“Did you hear that? They called me ‘Sir Blaze’!”

“What do you mean you? They were addressing all of us. We’re all surnamed Blaze. Why should they be referring to just you?”

“Exactly, exactly… Though that brother earlier was wrong. Not all of our Blaze Bug Clan are surnamed Blaze. Doesn’t our king bear the surname Dou? It was even Mr. Gu who named him.”

“That’s different… A king should be different from the rest of us…”

Back on the other side, Yan Wuyong turned to the generals who had followed him out and said sternly, “What are you all standing around for?”

The generals flinched, thinking the king was still upset about their earlier suggestion to “let the people suffer a little.” They looked at each other, unsure what to do.

Then they saw Yan Wuyong walk toward the grain pile and click his tongue. “What’s going on here? You guys really expect me to move all this by myself?”

Realizing what he meant, the generals sighed in relief and quickly called the city’s soldiers over to help carry the two “mountains” of grain into the city…