Chapter 20

Sophia was hot and exhausted. By the time the moon hung directly overhead, the pile of fruits and vegetables, as tall as a small hill, had already been cut in half.

Frustrated from the repetitive work, she began tossing in two sacks of potatoes or two large bags of cabbage at a time into the pig trough. She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but it felt like the trough had some elasticity to it, like it could stretch to hold everything.

Just as she was about to test it out further, a chill ran down her back. She turned around and saw Four-Eyes standing behind her. Its ears were perked up, and its drooping tail swayed back and forth, looking all innocent and obedient.

Under the moonlight, Sophia took a closer look and saw what it had in its mouth. She immediately got goosebumps. "Don't come any closer! Are you holding a snake?"

She nearly screamed.

Four-Eyes seemed even more excited. Its tail wagged faster, and it stepped closer.

Sophia quickly grabbed a potato and threw it toward Four-Eyes' feet. "Drop the snake before you come over."

Maybe it could sense her emotions. Four-Eyes turned around and walked off but kept looking back like it didn't want to leave.

Sophia felt completely drained. She collapsed onto the pile of potatoes and didn't care if it was dirty or not.

After a full day of work, she was covered in dust.

…

General Yves heard the sound of something rolling and thudding just before dawn.

There was a dull thump, then another one.

He realized he was starting to get used to the noise, because this time it didn't wake him with a start. He heard it in a half-dreaming state and even thought about turning over and going back to sleep.

But in the end, reason pulled him fully awake.

As he got up, the guards outside had also heard the sounds and were already moving.

Everyone was used to this by now and got to work in an orderly way.

After receiving the food supplies, General Yves headed to the military camp.

After the recent incident, most of the traitors within the city had been dealt with. Every household had been searched.

Chu, which was suffering from a drought, could no longer stir up much trouble.

Today, General Yves came to the camp to discuss the next steps in the southern campaign with the other commanders.

Judging by how the other side had been sending over food, it seemed they had no doubts about his intentions.

And from the looks of it, that region was rich in resources.

He planned to test their limits later.

Scouts that General Yves had sent out had been returning over the past few days.

They reported that many surrounding countries were also suffering from drought.

Further south, however, the southern tribes were experiencing floods.

This made General Yves even more eager to push south.

"Commander, launching another southern campaign will require a large amount of food and supplies. Once war starts, it could last as little as a month or as long as five or six years."

Right now, everything was dry and barren. There were still several countries in the south facing drought. If they took over those lands now, they'd be like Chu is now—barely enough food to last a month.

Most of the commanders didn't support the idea. They preferred to station the troops where they were, rest and recover, and wait until the drought passed before moving south.

But General Ulric stepped forward and said, "I support the southern campaign."

"If we wait for the drought to pass, those countries will have recovered. Especially large nations like Zhao and Wu in the south. Attacking them then will cost us much more effort. Why not strike now while they're weak and unprepared? Go straight for their core."

"If we can take Zhao or Wu, food will no longer be a concern. War is about striking while the momentum is strong!"

General Ulric's voice was powerful and confident.

He actually believed they still had one last hidden advantage. General Yves could talk to the High Deity. With the Deity's protection, they were sure to win this southern campaign.

Even the droughts happening in all the other countries were seen as help from the High Deity. Those disasters were weakening other nations' strength and focus.

With the two highest-ranking commanders already agreeing, unless someone had a much stronger reason to say no, then going forward with the southern campaign was already decided.

At that moment, a general suddenly spoke up. "Commander, what about the people in Chu? If we have food for war, are we just going to watch the people of Chu suffer, starve, and die of thirst?"

General Yves hadn't spoken yet, but General Ulric slammed the table in anger and stood up. "Watch your words, Xu Pi. Are you questioning the commander?"

General Ulric looked like a simple, honest man, but sometimes what he said could stir up strong reactions.

If General Yves didn't already understand his personality, he might think Ulric was a fake loyalist trying to cause trouble.

Xu Pi quickly dropped to his knees. "I would never dare."

General Yves then slowly opened his mouth. "Since you care so much, Xu Pi, you will stay behind and manage the Chu region."

After they won Chu, they still hadn't found a good person to take over.

They had thought about giving it to Howell, but he was too cruel and clever. There was a worry he might treat the people harshly and end up ruining the place.

Xu Pi's eyes went wide. "Commander"

He did feel sympathy for the people of Chu, but that didn't mean he wanted to be stuck there for life.

General Ulric looked at General Yves too. He felt that this kind of assignment was too harsh for a military man.

Being a government official and being a soldier were two very different things.

Officials had to deal with many tricky and complicated matters. One wrong move and you could get trapped in politics or killed.

Xu Pi had been a soldier for many years. Now being told to handle local government work felt like throwing him into a dangerous situation where local corrupt officials could destroy him.

General Yves ignored the surprised looks and spoke directly to Xu Pi. "In Chu, you will be the highest-ranking officer. I will give you three thousand soldiers. If needed, you can take action first and report later."

Xu Pi's nervous heart suddenly calmed down after hearing that.

"Thank you, Commander"

And with that, the situation in Chu was mostly handled.

General Yves gave him three thousand soldiers and also provided some food. He told him to go into the city, share the food with the people, and win their support.

After everyone left the tent, General Yves said, "Xu Pi is too soft-hearted. Our southern campaign is already very difficult. If the soldiers lose confidence, we could easily lose everything."

The southern campaign would be full of battles and danger. If anyone, whether on purpose or by accident, made the army lose focus, General Yves could not accept that.

General Ulric listened and nodded. He finally understood what General Yves was thinking. He had always been loyal to the commander, and now he agreed even more.

After General Ulric also left, General Yves sat down to write a letter. There was no hope of getting food from the court. It would be enough if the court didn't cause more problems. He would have to ask the so-called High Deity for supplies again.

By the time the letter reached the pigpen, Sophia was not at home.

She had gone out to look at a factory. One good thing about this countryside was that there was plenty of land and the rent was cheap.

The factory wasn't very big. It had three floors. Each floor was about 2000 square meters.

"Our prices here are low. Just twelve dollars per square meter. Three floors would cost seventy-two thousand. I'll round it down and give it to you for seventy thousand," said the owner.

The factory had closed down. The owner had gone out to work in another city. He came back on a short leave to handle this.

The building had been empty for two or three years. No one wanted to rent it until Sophia got in touch.

Sophia looked around. She checked upstairs and downstairs. She didn't rush to ask for a discount.

After looking carefully, she slowly started asking questions.