Chapter 83.2
“On this mission, your main role is to pose as horse bandits, plundering Great Xia to exact a satisfying revenge for this general!” General Zhao said, rallying his troops.
“Yes, General!” the 50 experts responded in unison.
“Since you’ll be entering the tiger’s den, you must be careful and cautious, with your survival as the top priority!”
“Yes, General!” They echoed in agreement once more.
“Furthermore, once you’re safe, send a message to let this old man know you’re alright!”
“Yes…”
After these instructions, General Zhao sent the men off at the agreed time and place.
Although they encountered the Great Xia army, they were allowed to pass without issue, making their journey incredibly smooth.
After one night, these 50 experts entered the territory of Great Xia and managed to avoid all of the Great Xia troops, hiding in a deep, uninhabited valley.
“Now, we are safe. Quickly report the situation to the General! Then, as per the General’s orders, we’ll disguise ourselves as horse bandits and raid Great Xia!”One of them whistled, and a bald eagle descended from the sky.
The person tied a piece of paper to the eagle’s leg and then tossed it high into the air.
“Go, make haste and return swiftly!”
Just then, dozens of Sword Qi suddenly fell from the sky, killing them along with the eagle.
Elsewhere, within the Northern Army camp, Shi Siming came to find An Lushan for a drink, holding a small chest.
Upon opening the chest, it revealed a full box of gold, silver, and jewels. He spoke with great pride, “Elder brother, look at this, 50,000 taels of silver! We just gave a slight nod, let some people through, and easily made a fortune! Plus, we’ve managed to cause trouble for that foolish Emperor, haha!”
An Lushan had some initial hesitations about Shi Siming’s treasonous actions.
But upon seeing the full chest of gold and silver treasures, his hesitation was cast aside, his eyes heated with excitement, and he exclaimed loudly, “Good, good, good, younger brother, you’ve done well! From now on, this matter is in your hands, and I fully support you!”
Shi Siming was overjoyed, “Thank you, elder brother, for your blessing! Elder brother, this is just the first income! After they finish their business, they will surely come back, and we can make another 50,000 taels of silver!”
An Lushan was also overjoyed, “Great! No more words needed, let’s drink!”
“Yes! Let’s drink to celebrate!”
The two set up a feast in the tent and began to drink merrily.
An Lushan took large gulps of alcohol while pulling out a bar of gold from a chest, extremely pleased with himself: “Earning money has been so easy, I got this without any effort! Little brother, we can make a fortune with this in the future!”
“Elder brother, what’s that?”
Shi Siming went on and on: “With our abilities, isn’t making money as easy as pie? With money and military power, do we still need to toil like oxen and horses for that foolish Emperor?”
“We can also secretly sabotage the foolish Emperor. When Great Yue and Great Xia go to war and both suffer losses, that will be the perfect time for us to rise and taste what it’s like to be an Emperor!”
“Little brother, you speak very well!” An Lushan said excitedly, clenching his fist.
But in the next moment, he was dumbfounded, “Second brother, there’s something off about this gold!”
“What’s wrong, elder brother?”
“I’ve crushed the gold!”
“Elder brother, what’s the big deal? Gold is naturally soft, and with your strong hands, it’s normal to crush it!”
“Second brother, that’s not what I mean. Come and see for yourself!”
Shi Siming came over and instantly his jaw dropped as well, “This gold… why has it changed color? It’s dull and grey… No, this isn’t gold, this is lead!”
The two exchanged a horrified look, then simultaneously reached their hands into the chest.
“This piece of gold is fake too!”
“This one as well!”
“These pearls… they’re all filled with flour inside!”
“And these banknotes, they’re all counterfeit, useless!”
“Fake! They’re all fake!”
Two old thieves erupted in anger.
They risked the danger of being beheaded, only to end up with a box of useless things?
An Lushan was furious, beating his chest in anguish and said, “Damn Yang XX! We’ve all been deceived by him! This is utterly outrageous! Outrageous indeed!” (TLN: XX is censored maybe.)
Shi Siming was also very angry. This was his first time doing business, yet he was thoroughly tricked, causing him to lose face in front of his elder brother. He even felt like killing someone!
“Elder brother, what should we do now? Should we just take our troops and attack?”
An Lushan was shocked, “Second brother, don’t be impulsive! Without the Emperor’s command, we cannot mobilize the troops on our own, or we’ll lose our positions! Moreover, this matter is a shady deal that should not be publicized! And one last thing that Yang is an Innate expert; we are no match for him!”
“Elder brother, are we just going to swallow this loss in silence?” Shi Siming said, unwilling to accept the situation.
“What else can we do?” An Lushan panted as he sat down, sullenly drinking his wine.
Shi Siming exhaled a resentful sigh and likewise sat down to drink.
……
On the other side, General Zhao of the Great Yue Kingdom was anxiously waiting for a reply from the 50 experts.
But after nearly a day, there was still no news from them, and he felt increasingly uneasy: “Could something have happened?”
The more he thought about it, the stronger this feeling became.
“Let’s wait one more day. If there’s still no reply, then it must mean they’ve encountered trouble!”
A day passed quickly, and General Zhao still hadn’t received any message. He was now utterly convinced that his troops had met with disaster.
“Damn it! They really ran into trouble; we’ve been tricked!” General Zhao was filled with immense regret.
The troops he had sent out were few in number, but each one was a master, powerful enough to take on an army of ten thousand.
Now, not a single piece of news had come back. Either they had been annihilated by the Innate or encircled and suppressed by the Great Xia army.
Either way, the Great Xia’s Northern Army could not wash away the suspicion.
After regret came raging anger; he had been outplayed.
Not only had he lost 50,000 taels of silver, but he had also lost 50 top experts.
He basically had lost his wife and his troops. (TLN: Metaphor.)
General Zhao trembled with rage.
What did I do wrong for Great Xia to treat me this way?
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