Chapter 859: I Don't Want To!
Shangnan County, Luo Xi's Garrison Camp.
Zheng Gouzi was drilling a bunch of fresh recruits.
Suddenly, the urgent thud of hooves echoed, and several riders approached from the south. Leading them was none other than Lu Xiangheng, the Pacification Commissioner of Yunyang.
He hadn't brought his entire Tianxiong Army, opting instead for a small retinue of a few dozen riders, clearly not here for battle.
Zheng Gouzi paid him no mind, but Luo Xi quickly went to greet him. "Commissioner Lu, I trust you've been well."
Lu Xiangheng was in high spirits. The situation in the Yunyang region had been quite good lately; the large bandit forces had already departed, leaving only small bands of stragglers. His Tianxiong Army no longer had such a difficult time fighting.
On the political front, thanks to Steward Li's generous assistance, large quantities of supplies were transported from Shaanxi. This not only supported the development of Shangnan County but also aided several towns in the Yunyang region, allowing the common people to slowly settle down.
No wonder Lu Xiangheng was in such a good mood!
A smile on his face, he said, "Just a few days ago, my Tianxiong Army chased a bandit force into the Shennongjia Mountains. That mountainous region is a bit... *cough*... impassable for my men, so we're currently garrisoned to the east of the Shennongjia Mountains, helping to bring peace to the people there."
"Even the landlord's family has no surplus grain left," Luo Xi blurted out, then quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.
Lu Xiangheng shot him an annoyed glare.
Zheng Gouzi, however, leaned in from the side. "Unfortunately, Steward Li had some business and just returned to Xi'an."
In truth, one of the Heavenly Lord's mass-produced avatars was right there in the room, but Li Daoxuan's attention wasn't focused here at the moment. The avatar had been left untouched for a long time, so Zheng Gouzi had no choice but to say Steward Li had returned to Xi'an.
Lu Xiangheng sighed, a hint of disappointment in his voice. "If Steward Li isn't here, then there's no one to make decisions, is there?"
Just as he said this, a low rumble suddenly echoed from the distant north.
Everyone froze for a moment. That sound...
They quickly rushed to the city wall. Looking north, they saw a strange, large iron vehicle, dragging a giant iron scoop behind it, driving towards Shangnan County.
Lu Xiangheng was greatly astonished. "What *is* that thing?"
Luo Xi was also dumbfounded. "Huh? Isn't that one of Xi'an's big trains? How did it get a size smaller? And... there are no tracks on the ground, so how is it moving?"
Among the three, Zheng Gouzi was the least surprised. He chuckled, "Oh, Young Master Bai has tinkered up another new contraption! The big train can run without tracks now? Tsk, tsk, what an invention!"
The strange, large iron vehicle could be seen approaching from afar, and soon it was before them.
Besides the driver, Padi Tu was surprisingly sitting in it.
Lately, Padi Tu had been at Tianzhu Mountain, managing the surrendered bandits and helping them undergo labor reform to become new people. It was unexpected to see him here.
Zheng Gouzi exclaimed with delight, "Lord Rabbit!"
Padi Tu also exclaimed with delight, "Gouzi, long time no see!"
Zheng Gouzi: "Weren't you at Tianzhu Mountain? How did you end up here?"
Padi Tu laughed. "The labor reform camp at Tianzhu Mountain is mostly settled; it can operate normally even without me. I've handed it over to my deputy to manage. Just then, the big cargo vehicle from Xi'an arrived, so I came along with it."
Zheng Gouzi: "This cargo vehicle is..."
Padi Tu: "Does that even need guessing? It's a new contraption invented by our village! Look, it's fully loaded with grain, meant to support the development of Shangnan County."
Seeing the grain, Lu Xiangheng was overjoyed. "Excellent! New grain has arrived again! Oh, I just wonder if Steward Li will agree to let me borrow some to relieve the refugees."
The moment he said this, Padi Tu's spirits soared. "What's wrong? Where are the refugees?"
Lu Xiangheng: "On the edge of the Shennongjia Mountains, there are some villages living very hard lives. Recently, bandit armies passed through, and they were plundered again..."
Hearing this, Padi Tu instantly couldn't sit still. "Wow, that won't do! We have to help them, give them grain, give them grain!"
Zheng Gouzi quickly reminded him, "Hey, Lord Rabbit, have you forgotten your past punishments? The public's grain isn't yours to hand out just because you say so."
Padi Tu chuckled. "Haha, times have changed! I have an authorization token!"
He pulled out a token. On it was written "Chivalry Token," and beside it, in smaller characters: "Special Permit for Disaster Relief and Material Allocation."
Padi Tu said triumphantly, "The Hea— Steward Li knows that there have been bandit activities in the Yunyang region lately, and his attention is currently focused on the north. So he specially issued this token to me! With this great authority in my hands, if I say help the common people, then I can help the common people!"
Zheng Gouzi clicked his tongue in wonder. "This token is truly remarkable!"
However, only Padi Tu could receive such a token with the Heavenly Lord's favor.
Because the most pure and selfless man in Gao Family Village was Padi Tu.
The Heavenly Lord didn't need to worry about Padi Tu pilfering supplies or lining his own pockets; that's why he dared to confidently give him this token. He could allocate supplies as he pleased! This was a top-tier privilege reserved only for the truly selfless.
For someone like Lao Nanfeng, the Heavenly Lord wouldn't dare to give it, fearing he wouldn't withstand the test and that excessive power would corrupt him.
Padi Tu, on the other hand, already had experience managing the Tianzhu Mountain labor reform camp. He wouldn't misuse supplies, but would certainly use them with a plan. Giving him this token now was perfectly timed.
Lu Xiangheng, however, thought differently: *Steward Li actually handed the great authority of material allocation to a fellow who seemed utterly unreliable. Steward Li's family fortune would surely be squandered away sooner or later.*
After the handover, Padi Tu took two-thirds of the grain from the vehicle, giving it to Shangnan County, and one-third to Lu Xiangheng.
This amount of grain wasn't much, but it was a gesture of goodwill. More grain would be transported later and would continue to be used for refugee relief at the same ratio.
Lu Xiangheng thanked them and departed.
Padi Tu turned to Zheng Gouzi. "Gouzi, pack your bags and come with me. Shangnan County won't see any battles for a while, so leaving Luo Xi alone here will be fine."
Zheng Gouzi was greatly puzzled. "Where are we going?"
Padi Tu: "The Heavenly Lord said that both of us are fools and need some systematic military knowledge tutoring. Otherwise, we'll never become great generals. He wants us to immediately go and become students at the newly established Yellow Pole Military Academy in Puzhou."
Zheng Gouzi: "Ugh, I hate school the most!"
Padi Tu chuckled. "I hate it just as much. But... the little brats and greenhorn recruits who joined the militia after us are all running off to study now. If, in the future, they finish their studies and become more capable than us, with higher positions, and we're still mere squad leaders while they're battalion commanders, wouldn't you feel incredibly awkward?"
Zheng Gouzi thought carefully. *Damn it, that would be incredibly awkward.*
Padi Tu gave a mysterious smile. "Oh, and by the way, the military academy doesn't just teach military strategy; it also teaches martial arts!"
Zheng Gouzi: "?"
Padi Tu stroked the ancestral treasured sword at his waist, saying with a sigh, "This time, I'll finally get to learn swordsmanship, right?"
Zheng Gouzi: "Pfft! Don't be silly, there's no such thing as practical swordsmanship in the world, none! All swordsmanship is just flashy moves for show. You'd be better off learning saber techniques."
"Impossible!" Padi Tu retorted. "The sword is the king of all weapons! How could it not have practical combat techniques? I absolutely refuse to learn saber techniques!"
Zheng Gouzi: "Precisely because it's a king, the sword is used for commanding, not for hacking people down. Don't be silly, just learn saber techniques."
"I don't want to! Noooooo!"
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