Chapter 1140: Since We Must Go Eventually, Why Not Go Early?
The night sky was cut into a small patch of black cloth by the closely spaced eaves.
Today’s stars were exceptionally bright, as if a weaver had stitched scattered golden threads onto the black fabric, making it beautiful.
This was the deepest side hall in the Li Palace, where Chen Changsheng resided.
He was eating at the moment, with Gou Hanshi keeping him company.
Qiushan Jun had remained behind at Li Mountain, and Qi Jian had not been permitted to head north with Zheshou.
Guan Feibai, Liang Banhu, and Bai Cai had gone to the front lines.
Gou Hanshi, however, had been kept here by him.
A very simple meal came to an end. An Hua led the priests in carrying the newly delivered scrolls, placing them one by one on the desks before Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi.
The side hall was utterly silent, save for the babbling sound of flowing water.
The pot of green leaves was nowhere to be seen.
After an unknown length of time, Gou Hanshi lifted his head and rubbed his tired face with his hand.
An Hua, standing by in attendance, handed him a steaming hot towel that had been prepared in advance.
Gou Hanshi was slightly startled, then softly thanked her before taking the towel to wipe his face.
Chen Changsheng also finished reviewing the scrolls, and An Hua hurried over to him.
A moment later, he and Gou Hanshi began speaking in low voices, exchanging their views and analyzing the documents.
The opinions they reached would be sent to the imperial palace in the shortest possible time for the Emperor’s reference.
At the same time, the Star Plucking Academy would also provide its own assessment.
The Emperor would then deliberate with the Prime Minister and the ministers of various departments to reach a final conclusion.
In the current Great Zhou Dynasty, everything revolved around this war.
As for ordinary state affairs and the livelihood of the people in the prefectures and counties, those were left to Mo Yu.
It had to be said that the Emperor placed great trust in Mo Yu.
And judging by the reactions from the court and the public over these past days, she had not betrayed that trust, nor the teachings of the late Saintess Tianhai.
This routine had continued for several days, but Gou Hanshi still found some aspects hard to get used to.
For instance, why was the towel An Hua handed him so hot? Didn’t her hands fear getting blistered?
He was a meticulous person and had long noticed that An Hua’s hands were indeed unharmed.
Another thing: why did the battle reports received by the Li Palace arrive even faster than those of the Military Department?
Especially for certain critical news, it often reached the Li Palace the moment it occurred at the front.
This baffled Gou Hanshi.
Compared to that, the methods of the demon race did not surprise him as much.
“This is the seventh inspection report from the Azure Thirteen Divisions. It confirms that the demon soldiers’ hearts are engorged and swollen, one and a half times larger than normal.”
He said to Chen Changsheng, “Our deduction was correct. They use drugs to boost strength while destroying rationality, eliminating any fear of death.”
Chen Changsheng asked, “Is there an antidote?”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he shook his head, realizing he had asked a foolish question.
Even if an antidote could be found, there was no way to make those hundreds of thousands of low-level demon soldiers willingly take it.
If his and Gou Hanshi’s inference was correct, the drug used by the demon race actually originated from the human race.
Ten thousand years ago, the Longevity Sect had once controlled many demon servants. It was said that some eccentric yet brilliant elders enjoyed using those servants to research berserker transformations among the demon race. No one knew if they had ultimately succeeded in their research, but they had created a drug capable of stimulating biological potential and forcibly inducing berserker states.
That drug was extremely potent. Using it even once would cause the heart to burst and kill the user, with no exceptions. Thus, it was quickly sealed away in the forbidden grounds of the Longevity Sect.
The drug now used by the demon race closely resembled the one recorded in the Daoist scriptures from the Longevity Sect.
Given the Longevity Sect’s secret collusion with the demon race, the truth was plain to see.
Fortunately, the Longevity Sect had declined and had been purged by Su Li twenty years ago.
“The demon race’s numbers are already inferior to ours. Now, it takes two or three demon soldiers to exchange for one of ours.”
Chen Changsheng said, “This approach feels utterly insane and unreasonable.”
Gou Hanshi replied, “Whether it’s reasonable depends on the specific situation. Low-level demons are crucial for the demon race’s reproduction and survival. Losing too many now will affect their long-term prospects. But right now, their priority is simply to survive. If they can scare us off, they might be willing to accept losing four-fifths of their low-level demons.”
Chen Changsheng fell silent upon hearing this.
The front-line battle reports described a truly troublesome situation. The war had just begun, yet the demon race had already adopted a decisive battle stance. Although no powerful figures had been deployed, the image of hundreds of thousands of demon soldiers charging fearlessly at the defensive lines was enough to make anyone’s heart tremble.
Faced with the demon soldiers’ frenzied, suicidal attacks, many human soldiers had indeed broken down. On some of the most pressured battlefields, there had even been incidents of rout. If not for the timely arrival of Linghai Zhiwang leading the State Church cavalry, who executed over a hundred deserters on the spot, the situation might not have been brought under control.
If the demon race intended to use this method to intimidate the human army and at least crush their morale, then it had to be admitted that they had succeeded.
Liang Hongzhuang held this view, and so did Gou Hanshi, though he thought further ahead than Liang Hongzhuang.
“I don’t know if this is the Demon Lord’s plan or the Black Robe’s doing, but it’s clear that their more important goal is attrition.”
Gou Hanshi stood up and said, “They want to wear down our courage, our energy, and most importantly, our time.”
A map formed from clear light hung suspended in the air.
He drew three lines on the map with his finger and said, “Judging by the enemy’s attack focus and shifting patterns, their objective is very clear: to use these three tidal waves of attacks, these thirty thousand miles of grasslands and lives, to buy enough time.”
Compared to the original plan, the human army was already seventeen days behind schedule.
If they continued to slow down step by step, even if they could break through the demon race’s layered defenses and finally reach the foot of Xue Lao City, it would likely be deep winter by then.
That would be an unimaginably dire situation.
“What should we do?” Chen Changsheng asked.
Gou Hanshi was silent for a moment, then said, “Just follow the original plan.”
Chen Changsheng was puzzled. “Pretend nothing has happened?”
“In fact, nothing has really happened. We all know the demon race will resist at any cost.”
Gou Hanshi said, “On the contrary, in my view, whether this is the Demon Lord’s or the Black Robe’s strategy, it’s a major mistake. The war has been dormant for years, and at least half of our front-line soldiers have never seen battle. This fierce demon offensive serves as a test, a tempering process, turning them into true veterans.”
Chen Changsheng said, “Such a test and tempering will be hard to endure.”
Gou Hanshi replied, “If they can’t get through this, how can we talk about taking Xue Lao City?”
Chen Changsheng said, “Even if they get through this, there will be unforeseen losses.”
“Yes, many people will die this time. They might be people we know, people we think shouldn’t die so soon.”
Gou Hanshi looked at him and said, “But everyone will die. We will go there too, and we will die. So, please be calm.”
Chen Changsheng walked to the edge of the pool, watching the wooden ladle slowly spinning in the current. He thought of that pot of green leaves, recalled the scene from over a decade ago when his master, the sect uncle, held the green leaves and fought bitterly against the Saintess in the ruined Southern City, and said in a low voice, “I don’t want to stay in the capital.”
“No.”
Gou Hanshi did not hesitate.
Chen Changsheng said, “Since we must go eventually, why not go early?”
Gou Hanshi said, “You are the Pope. You must stay in the capital to stabilize the people’s hearts. Only when we can see Xue Lao City can you leave.”
When they could see Xue Lao City, that would be the time for the final decisive battle.
Only then would Chen Changsheng’s departure from the capital not worry the faithful and the people about the war’s outcome; instead, it would strengthen their belief in victory.
This was an arrangement that had already been settled, or rather, something agreed upon before the war began.
When the human army stormed Xue Lao City, Chen Changsheng would be present, not the Emperor.
The scrolls were carried away by the priests, and the opinions and strategies were sent out of the Li Palace to the imperial palace with utmost speed.
Gou Hanshi took the hot towel from An Hua, thanked her, and pressed it to his face to briefly relieve his fatigue.
When he opened his eyes, he found that Chen Changsheng was no longer there.
Suddenly, the sound of a sword came.
Gou Hanshi went to the stone chamber.
Chen Changsheng stood quietly inside.
There was no sword in the stone chamber.
No one knew what he was thinking.
Gou Hanshi sensed the strangeness in his mood and asked, “What happened?”
Chen Changsheng said, “Liang Hongzhuang is dead.”
Gou Hanshi’s expression shifted slightly. “Liang Hongzhuang?”
Chen Changsheng said, “Yes, someone I knew.”
(Thirty-Seven Chinese)