Ren Tianye looked at Su Jin.
Su Jin immediately gave a slight nod.
Ren Tianye's heart surged with joy.
Now, Pukou City was like a fish trapped in a net.
He turned around and shouted to Zhang Shi, "In the coming days, I will launch a full-scale assault on Pukou City, and we must take it as quickly as possible.
Once we capture Pukou City, our imperial army will hold one side of the Yangtze River, facing Yunjing from across the river. At that point, we will truly be able to advance or retreat at will, standing completely invincible."
Fixing his gaze on Zhang Shi, he barked, "Who is willing to help me take Pukou City?"
Zhang Shi immediately clasped his fists: "Lord Duke, I am willing to lead troops and capture Pukou City."
Just as Ren Tianye was about to agree, Wu Xingzhou, who had followed, knelt on one knee: "Lord Duke, I am a new recruit, and I am deeply grateful for your guidance on spear techniques. This time, I am willing to lead the troops to take Pukou City to repay your kindness."
Looking at Wu Xingzhou's determined expression, Ren Tianye suddenly understood. So that's why Wu Xingzhou had rushed over in such a hurry—he had learned that Wanqing was the wife of the Pukou City defender, and now he was eager to earn some merit!
While he was thinking, Zhang Shi's voice rang out: "Oh? Wu Xingzhou, you dare to compete with me?"
Wu Xingzhou replied calmly, "General Zhang, I deeply admire your campaigns to sweep the grasslands and pacify the steppes. I would never dare to contend with you.
But as a newcomer, I am eager to establish my achievements."
Zhang Shi snorted coldly, dismissing Wu Xingzhou.
When it came to vying for battle opportunities, even Wang Ming had to yield to him. Among his former brothers, only Sun Xiang could hold an edge over him.
Wu Xingzhou wanted to compete with him?
Ha! He would show Wu Xingzhou what it meant to be an ant shaking a tree—utterly overestimating himself.
So he, too, knelt on one knee and said, "Lord Duke, I am willing to sign a military pledge. If you grant me ten thousand men and twenty cannons, I swear I will take Pukou City within a month."
The moment he finished, Wu Xingzhou immediately shouted, "Lord Duke, I am also willing to sign a military pledge. If you grant me just a thousand men, I swear I will take Pukou City within three days."
Zhang Shi's face showed shock.
Brother, Pukou City had a circumference of ten li, was situated on high ground, and was fortified like an iron fortress. Even I needed ten thousand men and a month just for a chance to take it.
But you...
A thousand men? Three days?
The shock in Zhang Shi's heart was immense. It was as if he were seeing Wu Xingzhou for the first time, and he gave him a thorough once-over.
Still, he couldn't lose face, so Zhang Shi clasped his fists again: "Lord Duke, I only need eight hundred men, and I'll take it in three days."
Wu Xingzhou immediately followed: "Lord Duke, I'll go alone, and I'll take it in one day!"
Zhang Shi was completely stunned.
One man, one day, to take Pukou City?
He couldn't help blurting out, "Wu Xingzhou, there are no jokes in the army!"
Wu Xingzhou said firmly, "No jokes in the army. I am willing to sign the military pledge."
At this, Zhang Shi was truly dumbfounded.
Shouting out "eight hundred men, three days to take Pukou City" was already a huge risk, requiring an extremely daring strategy.
But now, Wu Xingzhou had claimed he could do it alone in one day, and he was even willing to sign a military pledge!
He really couldn't compete with that.
"Fine, brother, you're ruthless!" Zhang Shi slapped Wu Xingzhou hard on the shoulder and said, "I concede. I'll just watch how you take Pukou City in one day!"
Wu Xingzhou was overjoyed.
Since Zhang Shi wasn't competing anymore, it was unlikely anyone else would.
He knelt and kowtowed: "Lord Duke, please grant my request. I will take Pukou City alone in one day."
Ren Tianye, still standing, looked somewhat helpless, and Su Jin shared the same expression. Su Jin leaned close to Ren Tianye and said quietly, "I didn't mention anything to Wu Xingzhou, but as soon as he heard that Wanqing's husband was called Zhou Xiong, he rushed over, grinning all over."
Ren Tianye sighed.
When he glanced at Zhang Shi, the helplessness in his eyes deepened.
Over these days, Zhang Shi had clearly improved, but not enough. Wu Xingzhou, upon hearing the name "Zhou Xiong," had reacted instantly.
And you, dammit, still haven't figured it out!
Ren Tianye wouldn't show undue favor to Zhang Shi, so he agreed to Wu Xingzhou's request and said, "In that case, the task of taking Pukou City is entrusted to you."
"Yes, Lord Duke!" Wu Xingzhou's face lit up even more. "But I have one small request: please hand over that woman, Wanqing, to me."
Ren Tianye was about to agree, but Zhang Shi spoke first: "Oh? You haven't even won the battle yet, and you're already asking the Lord Duke for a woman? Hah, I heard you have a nickname like 'King of the Wheel of Reincarnation'—so eager, are you?"
These words were clearly said out of anger, but Wu Xingzhou didn't indulge Zhang Shi. He smiled and said, "General Zhang, you misunderstand. I don't want Wanqing for personal desires.
It's just because her husband is called Zhou Xiong."
"So what if he's called Zhou Xiong?" Zhang Shi said. But as the words left his mouth, he felt the name "Zhou Xiong" sounded familiar, though he couldn't recall where he'd heard it.
"Zhou Xiong is the defender of Pukou City!"
Zhang Shi: "What?"
"Zhou Xiong is the defender of Pukou City!"
Wu Xingzhou emphasized it again.
Zhang Shi was stunned.
He instinctively turned to look at Ren Tianye, but Ren Tianye ignored him. He was talking to Su Jin and walked away with long strides.
Wu Xingzhou glanced at Zhang Shi's expression, not daring to offend him too much, and said with a flattering smile, "General Zhang, how about we join forces and attack Pukou City together?"
"No need!" Zhang Shi stood up and turned to leave. He hadn't gone far before he bumped into Wang Ming.
"Old Zhang, what's wrong? I heard we're attacking Pukou City. Is it that difficult?"
"Hmph, I'm not fighting for Pukou City anymore. That Wu Xingzhou is the vanguard."
"Oh?" Wang Ming was pleasantly surprised. Wu Xingzhou had initially come to him, and it was he who had recommended Wu Xingzhou to Ren Tianye. In that sense, Wu Xingzhou was his man. "I didn't expect Wu Xingzhou, a newcomer, to dare take on such a big responsibility.
I hope he can perform even half as well as you, General Zhang, and earn some recognition from the Lord Duke."
Zhang Shi: "..."
He shot Wang Ming a fierce glare, then walked away gloomily. Out of habit, he found a rock to sit on, his face full of sorrow, looking utterly dejected.
He thought about falling back on his old habit—doing a fortune-telling for himself.
But his fortune-telling skills were barely half-baked, not even good enough to fool others, let alone himself.
"Sigh!"
"Sigh!"
"Sigh!"
He sighed several times and sat there blankly for an hour until his personal guards came looking for him.
"General Zhang, the Lord Duke summons you!"
"It seems he has an important task for you."
……
s the Eldest Princess, renowned for her cold and aloof detachment, became the most docile of lambs, obeying his every command without question. But when the final move was played on the chessboard, as Gu Chenghan seized everything and ascended on the verge of apotheosis, that very Princess suddenly embraced him from behind, her tone carrying a dependence never heard before: "Wait... you haven't yet... commanded me to love you forever." Gu Chenghan froze abruptly. She... hadn't been hypnotized?! ... [The Eldest Princess's Diary] [When my soul was extracted, becoming the sole spectator outside my own shell] [At first, there was overwhelming fury, until I saw] [How he used my sword to effortlessly shatter my inescapable doom] [How he wielded my authority to eradicate fatal conspiracies I had never even detected] [Like a deity, he rescued me from the deep mire I was trapped in] [If not for those annoying vixens, he and I would be a match made in heaven] [I think I am ill, gravely ill] [My deity should belong to me alone] ... "Hypnosis? Oh, it succeeded, my dear Master." "Only this time, it's my turn to hypnotize you."
lanned to earn money steadily and take life at a slower pace. But he never expected... his father's remarriage, and the stepmother bringing along a dependent, would completely disrupt his life's plans...
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
e vast world of cultivation, where he becomes the master of the Heavenly Ruins Sacred Hall, a dying old man with barely a tenth of his former cultivation remaining. He is immediately confronted with a deadly crisis: his subordinates have rebelled, and his protectors are forcing him to abdicate. At the critical moment, the system descends from the heavens: [Ding! The host has been detected facing a life-or-death crisis. The system is now officially activated!] [As a gift, you have received the Supreme Beginner’s Pack and awakened the ultimate cheat: ten thousand years of pure cultivation essence every second!] Yin Tianjue: “Wait… ten thousand years of cultivation every second? That’s six hundred thousand years a minute, and in one day… I can’t even calculate it. Either way, I’m already invincible!” You’re a peerless prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re an undying ancestor who has guarded a sacred land for countless ages? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. You’re the strongest chosen one, blessed with heaven-defying destiny? Sorry, I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. From this day forth, I have only one thing to say: “I gain ten thousand years of cultivation every second. Now, how exactly are you supposed to deal with that?”
