northernbook Chapter 124 Trust those you trust, and do not employ those you distrust.
Chapter 124 Trust those you trust, and do not employ those you distrust.
At the entrance of the camp, Puyang Xuan wanted to follow her in, but Yang Jianwu refused, resulting in the current stalemate between the two.
Yang Jianwu crossed her arms and glared at Puyang Xuan, "Can you listen to me?"
"No! Prince Ning's intentions towards you are impure; I don't trust you to go in alone!"
Yang Jianwu sighed, "This is a military camp!"
"The military camp is Prince Ning's territory! He can do whatever he wants, and plenty of people will protect him!"
Yang Jianwu was almost laughing in anger, "Oh~ you do know this is a military camp, the territory of Prince Ning?! You were still so arrogant just now knowing that!"
Puyang Xuan sounded a little aggrieved, and his voice softened considerably, "I'm just stating the facts..."
Yang Jianwu pretended to rub the goosebumps on his arms, "Hey... alright, a real man shouldn't be so effeminate. You're already pretty, if you add a bit more effeminate mannerisms, it'll be hard to tell if you're male or female."
Puyang Xuan was truly wronged by the criticism, "Sword Dance..."
“Puyang Xuan, I know you are good at kung fu, but no matter how good you are, you are still just one person. Being strong alone is not true strength. No matter how strong you are, you are still just a sheep. But they are different. When they unite, they are a pack of wolves. If you try to compete with them, you will not even be left with ashes.”
Mo Ye listened quietly from the side. This analogy was quite apt! In the past few days, with training and troop deployment, everyone worked together to fight the enemy, and the offensive power had increased significantly compared to before. Wasn't that just like a pack of wolves?
Yang Jianwu didn't want to waste any more time, so she gave Puyang Xuan a choice: "Either stay outside the tent or leave directly."
Puyang Xuan wanted to try to persuade her, but was stopped by Yang Jianwu's gaze and stood outside nonchalantly feeding the mosquitoes.
Inside the tent, Mo Ye poured Yang Jianwu a cup of tea. "Little Wu'er, did you come with the general this time?"
"I'm meeting my father in the capital early the day after tomorrow. I came to see you first because, besides returning Taxue to you, I have something else to discuss with you."
"It must be something very important that you were sent directly to the military camp. Tell me about it."
Yang Jianwu nodded, "It is quite important, it concerns the well-being of the people!"
Upon hearing that it concerned a matter of people's livelihood, Mo Ye immediately sat up straight and asked, "What is it?"
“The spies from the Southern Yue Kingdom released a large number of crabs into Hanling County, and they were discovered just in time. If they hadn’t been discovered, the grain production would have been severely affected!”
Mo Ye also looked solemn. "I have also sent people to investigate the crab matter. They are all gathered near Hanling County. Actually, I have always had a question. The border between Dongli and the Southern Yue Emperor is quite long. Why were they only released in Hanling County? If it was to expand the area of damage to Dongli's grain, more places should have been selected."
Yang Jianwu's eyes darted around as she told Mo Ye her guess.
“I once flew over Nan Yue on my little white horse. There are indeed several rivers at the border between Nan Yue and Dong Li, with branches running through both countries. If crabs were released into those rivers, it might bring disaster to Nan Yue! Among the rivers, only the one in Hanling County extends directly into Dong Li territory!”
Mo Ye recalled his experience flying on Xiao Bai's back and gave Yang Jianwu a thumbs up. He admired how much manpower and resources Nan Yue had spent to determine this waterway, and how Xiao Wu'er could find it out by herself and her eagle.
Are you worried that if they fail once, they'll try again?
“Unless Nan Yue didn’t release all the crabs from the same batch, it’s impossible for them to survive this year. The growth cycle of crabs is about a year and a half. Even if you have some juvenile crabs that haven’t grown up yet, the survival rate will be extremely low if you release them again. Nan Yue isn’t stupid; they can’t afford to waste the crab juveniles that they’ve worked so hard to raise.”
Crabs are not numerous on the Cloud Sea Continent. The crabs cultivated in Nan Yue are meaty and delicious. Presumably, they were cultivated as Gu worms and fed with many good things.
Mo Ye felt somewhat relieved after hearing the explanation, but was still a little puzzled. Xiao Wu'er was usually quite decisive and didn't like beating around the bush, so why was she hesitant today? "Are you worried about next year?"
Yang Jianwu shook her head, "As long as they dare to release the crabs next year, I can host another crab feast! Only a fool wouldn't take free money!"
Neither of them spoke again, and the tent fell into silence, broken only by the occasional sound of Yang Jianwu toying with the tea lid and tapping it against the teacup...
Finally, Mo Ye broke the silence, "Little Wu'er, do you not believe me? You seem to have many concerns about what you're saying today..."
Yang Jianwu did indeed have concerns, very concerns! She decided to find Mo Ye, but forgot about the fickle nature of human nature! She hadn't fully considered the consequences of revealing this secret, and didn't know if she could bear them…
When Mo Ye accidentally discovered that she could retrieve things remotely, she could only claim that the red jade and silver bracelet had a storage function. Now, if she were to reveal that there were high-quality seeds inside the bracelet, wouldn't he suspect that there were other things inside? Human greed can be amplified infinitely!
If the initial agreement to cooperate was purely to help one's own meridians open up, who knows if one might later have ulterior motives?
In the novels I read when I was bored, there were quite a few characters who used the female lead to achieve their goals in order to climb the social ladder, and then, after gaining fame and fortune, they teamed up with a scheming woman to ruin the female lead...
She didn't want to be that kind of fool, paving the way for others only to ruin herself; although it's true that you should trust those you employ, who wouldn't want an extra layer of protection...
Mo Ye noticed Xiao Wu'er's predicament and offered, "Xiao Wu'er, if you don't trust me, you can use Gu on me."
Yang Jianwu paused in her toy with the tea lid. She had considered using Gu, but it was different when Mo Ye brought it up. Was it a deliberate test to make her believe him, or was he genuinely trying to gain her trust...?
"Little Wu'er, do you know why Father Emperor has been delaying my departure to my fiefdom, only allowing me to remain in the capital to serve?"
Yang Jianwu was unaware of this. Emperors were far more perceptive than Bi Gan, and they were also prone to being suspicious.
"My father knew that my master was Tie Lao. He was afraid that Tie Lao would help me seize the throne, so he made me stay in the capital to take up a post. Even if I left the capital for official business, it would not be for long. I had to report my whereabouts every day."
After a pause, Mo Ye continued, "Furthermore, my father has ordered his men to keep all of my mother's relatives under control in the capital. Unless I give up all their lives, they are like hostages in my father's hands. If I dare to have any disloyal thoughts, they will... Xiao Wu'er, even biological fathers and sons are treated this way, let alone you and I, who are now just friends and business partners. I agree to let you use Gu on me, just to gain your complete trust!"
After hearing Mo Ye's words, Yang Jianwu felt even more contempt for Emperor Dongli. Aside from a little bit of concern for the people, he was utterly inferior in every way! She wondered what Luo Qi's taste was; how could he have fallen for him in the first place? A scumbag and a terrible person!
As for Mo Ye, just trust him. We need to find someone to cooperate with eventually, and he seems to be the most suitable right now. Rather than wasting time and effort finding someone else, it's better to cooperate with him and go for it. If... he really does betray us one day... then just shoot him dead!