Chapter Eighty: A Premature Way of Thinking

“What exactly happened before?”
After being brought back to the camp by Yang Wentian, Mei Xiaosheng hesitated for a long time before finally asking.

“You were attacked,” Yang Wentian replied listlessly. “I rescued you and brought you back.”

“Why did you have to go there in the first place?” Mei Xiaosheng stared at him. “Who were you going to see? Was it the person you wanted to meet who attacked me? If they hadn’t tried to kill me too, I guess I should thank you...”

“Enough!” Yang Wentian roared.

Startled, she saw him lower his head, looking deeply dejected.

She wanted to press further, but... given the circumstances, it would have been normal for her to die. No, perhaps death would have been the natural outcome.

No matter what this man had done, he had never abandoned her. It was not right to push him any further.

So she sat beside him and gently embraced him.

After a while, she heard him sobbing.

“I’m so weak,” Yang Wentian whispered in her arms.

“Wang Luo is a pure pervert, so I won’t even mention him. But Zhou Yingxiong can command armies and manage affairs. Yet I can’t even manage a scouting squad!”

“I’ve been captured again and again! I’m nothing but a useless, worthless fool!”

It seemed he had been caught again...

Mei Xiaosheng almost laughed. Last time, we caught him. This time, someone else got him?

But... being caught was never a good thing, and Wang Luo truly was a pervert.

She sighed softly. When they had caught him before, they believed his intelligence, thinking it was an opportunity, only to be deceived.

So, what about this time? Will Wuzhou be outmaneuvered by that person? Or perhaps...

Should they report it? Even if they had been in contact before, it would at least clarify their stance?

---

“No, there’s no need to thank them.”

A group of women gathered in a small tent at the corner of the main camp. They formed a circle around a woman with a ponytail and a sharp, capable expression (not the one beside Wang Luo; let’s call her B), who stood calmly and gracefully among them. Most of the women had been educated by Gedini, with a few students from Rank.

“Saving people brings them the greatest spiritual satisfaction. This satisfaction alone is enough to pay for their actions. We need not do more than this.”

“So, if you have any thoughts of repaying them, forget it. Because the weak being saved is inevitable, it is fate. The strong in this world exist to save the weak! If it weren’t them coming to save us, it would be someone else!”

“Indeed, their appearance might even prevent the emergence of the truly best heroes for us—those handsome and kind ones!”

The crowd murmured in awe and resigned sighs.

“We are so fragile, so beautiful. And these men not only fail to care for us, but make us eat rough wheat cakes! They make us do the hard labor!” She gestured toward the food and clothes nearby. “Washing clothes, cooking meals. Hmph! As if we were their slaves!”

These words sparked much support and resonance around her.

“Well said!”

“Exactly right!”

“If not for you, we’d still be in the dark!”

“My fingers are nearly frozen rough! Washing clothes in such cold water!”

“It’s been so long, and they still haven’t won. That man is utterly weak!”

Most of the speakers were Gedini’s students. Among Rank’s students, a shy young girl quietly whispered, “Isn’t that a bit too harsh?”

Immediately, the women turned their ire on her.

“A worthless fool who can’t even read a few hundred characters, how dare you speak to us?”

“Harsh? B is stating the truth Wang Luo wants to hide! He wants to exploit us and use our support to gain power!”

“Exactly! And after losing several battles, he made us lose so many vegetables!”

“Let’s go protest to him! We must fight back! This injustice cannot continue!”

Before these fierce words could escalate further, B raised her right hand and spoke again.

“This man refuses to fight himself, only sending others into battle. That would be bad enough. But he even said: our children shall not inherit our legacy! That’s utterly insane!”

---

“For now, that might seem beneficial—we can seize the landlords’ property. But in the long run? Are we to let our children live in poverty?”

“Since our ancestors hundreds of generations ago, their heritage was always passed down! Why, when it comes to him, must it be given to outsiders?”

But... we have nothing at all.

The timid girl wanted to speak up, but seeing the expressions around her, she gave up.

“Those men refuse to listen to our advice, and even hit me... hit us! They are foolish, not knowing that following rules is not a skill; true skill lies in breaking rules while enjoying the benefits without punishment. The greatest skill is to break the old order, establish new rules, and continuously reap the rewards.”

“Let us use our knowledge to break these rules that only benefit them! Let us win more support and claim what we deserve!”

As she raised her hand, they cheered.

“Yes!”

“Claim what we deserve!”

----

Charles tossed and turned in bed.

The Han army’s recent strategy was to clear out and attack relentlessly. Using their superior strength to launch continuous assaults, they aimed to put immense pressure on the revolutionary forces, leaving them no room or chance to develop. Then, using the gaps after repelling the enemy, they would eliminate the revolutionaries’ supporters.

This approach seemed brutal, but it was extremely effective when victory was assured. Wang Luo’s manifesto and its execution destined him to be an archenemy of the gentry—far beyond the hatred sparked by the Yellow Turban ideology. If this manifesto spread, those people would concentrate all their forces, using the most ferocious and cruel methods against him.

Could he win against this? So far, he had led the entire army to face them head-on. The first few times, he barely held on, but once the Han army understood his tactics, he was defeated last time.

Next was the home territory of most locally recruited soldiers and their families. The Han army was ruthless to civilians supporting the revolution. If they retreated again, the elderly, women, and children who had just gained land would all perish. He could not retreat further. So, would he hold firm using the terrain, or draw the enemy out for a decisive battle?

What was most advantageous for him? If the Han army and Wuzhou won, he would have to surrender again, with his income cut to a quarter and debts even harder to repay. If the revolutionaries and Wang Luo won, he needed to capture Hua Kai alive; otherwise, he’d have to repay double the debts—a sum impossible to meet.

A stalemate was best. Lin Feirui and Gedini had been working behind the scenes. Did they have a chance? If possible, it was better to disrupt their plans—only during a stalemate could there be more time to gather intelligence and more room to seek opportunities, perhaps even find a way to break the deadlock.

Then... should he tell Wang Luo the information currently known and about his contact with Lin Feirui? The problem was, this man was insidiously cunning in some ways and astonishingly naive in others. Even if told, and he profited from it, he would likely only give himself a small reward.

Was there a way to get him to provide more common benefits? What was the best way to handle this?