Mythic version of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 7269 always manages to develop new uses.

Chapter 7269 always manages to develop new uses.

When Zou ran back carrying the fragments of the naval gun, a veteran informed Chen Xi. After all, how could a top veteran who handles weapons every day not know the quality of steel? This special steel, which looks to weigh half a ton, is not something others can see.

The information had been relayed through the ranks and finally reached Chen Xi. So, by the time Zou Ta had carried the stolen goods to Jiangling to find a smelter to sell them, Chen Xi had already sent someone to find Zou Ta, along with the gun steel. As the saying goes, only Zou Ta would dare to sell such things; most people wouldn't dare.

Let alone the Han Dynasty, even in later generations, special steel was a controlled item. Any scrap metal collector with a brain wouldn't dare to buy such a thing. Even if someone was bold and had connections, if they were sure it was special steel, they would definitely try to squeeze the price down by claiming it came from an illegitimate source.

But none of this was a problem for Zou. If he could get it, he could sell it at a high price. His position as an official with a salary of over two thousand shi (a unit of grain) was no joke; it was earned through hard work and battle.

"So you went to retrieve this thing?" Chen Xi looked at the fragments of gunpowder that Zou had carried back. To be honest, just one glance was enough for Chen Xi to tell that the thing was completely ruined.

More importantly, this thing wasn't scrapped because it sank, but because it was used too frequently and etched and aged.

In other words, of the sixteen naval cannons that Zhou Jun first had Zou send over, the four that sank were already defective.

Zou Ta looked like a fly rubbing its hands together, and Chen Xi was too lazy to explain to Zou Ta. After all, the other party was not a professional and could not understand that the etching marks on the gun steel already explained a lot of problems. In fact, if they really wanted to investigate, Zhou Jun and Zou Ta would have to pay a heavy price.

However, since the cannon had already been delivered, and Zhou Yu had previously whipped Zhou Jun so badly that Zhou Jun couldn't get out of bed for several days, Chen Xi was too lazy to pursue the matter any further.

"Are you planning to sell it for money?" Chen Xi asked casually.

"Yeah, it's just the right amount to fish out, and I figured it's worth pretty much." Zou said cautiously, somewhat aware that he had indeed gone a bit too far. Of course, this was only in front of Chen Xi. In any other situation, Zou would have been absolutely right to say that he did just that!

"How much do you think this thing is worth?" Chen Xi asked, glancing at Zou Ta.

"If we sell it as scrap steel, it'll be worth around a hundred thousand yuan," Zou said cautiously, unsure of Chen Xi's thoughts.

"Here's what we'll do. Take this to Zhou Jun, give it to him, and then tell him your request. After Zhou Jun gives you the money, remember to tell him that you've come to my side and that I'll direct you to his place." Chen Xi said to Zou in an annoyed tone, then gestured for him to get lost and not to send such trivial matters to him.

Zou was confused, but he still quickly picked up the huge piece of scrap steel and ran away. Chen Xi shook his head and decided not to pursue the matter. After all, Zhou Jun had sent another twenty naval cannons in the second batch and had been whipped by Zhou Yu. It was still a question whether he could get out of bed.

Logically speaking, this matter is already in the past. Even if some information has been found now, considering how it was handled last time, there is really no need to continue to dwell on it.

Therefore, he sent Zou to carry this over to see Zhou Jun, so that Zhou Jun would know that he and Zhou Yu were aware of everything. This was also to make it clear to Zhou Jun that he should be more careful in the future. Making money is fine, but there should still be a bottom line. This time, he let it go.

As for Wu County, Chen Xi has already sent people with orders to dismiss or execute those who should be dismissed. There's nothing they can do. If you can produce the warrant, the matter can be dropped. But if you can't, then you should be dealt with according to military law. It's that simple.

Chen Xi, who dislikes killing, has to consider the consequences in certain matters. He can't just give such a serious matter, which involves military law, a so-called "dignity"!

How should future generations view this matter?

So let's keep it simple: if you're going to die, you have to die. Dignity is for those who are capable.

On the other side, Zou carried the scrap metal from the ship's cannon all the way to Zhou Jun's residence in Jiangling. At this time, Zhou Jun, who had just been whipped by Zhou Yu and was spinning like a top, was lying on the bed applying medicine. Although Zhou Yu did not make his nephew play the revolving lantern, he did make Zhou Jun start to repent.

However, just as Zhou Jun was lying on the bed having the doctor apply medicine, Zhou Ming rushed in. As soon as Zhou Jun saw Zhou Ming, he started to convulse. He couldn't help it; he was stressed. The two times Zhou Yu had whipped Zhou Jun, it was Zhou Ming who handed him the whip. So when he saw Zhou Ming appear, Zhou Jun was so frightened that his muscles twitched. He tried to crawl but fell off the bed.

"Ouch!" Zhou Jun screamed in pain. When he rolled off the bed and onto the floor, he hit his wound. The intense pain made him bark like a dog on the spot!

"Uncle, I was wrong!" Zhou Jun cried out in despair, not caring whether Zhou Yu had come or not, nor caring about his confident and scheming demeanor from a while ago, and immediately apologized.

"Young Master, the Patriarch has not come." Zhou Ming was speechless at Zhou Jun's miserable state, but he also admitted that Zhou Yu had indeed been ruthless. The top-quality Shu brocade clothes that Zhou Jun was wearing had been torn to shreds by the whip.

"Phew~" Upon hearing this, Zhou Jun first breathed a sigh of relief, then cried out in pain, "Help me up, Brother Zhou, help me to the couch, let me lie down there."

Although Zhou Jun was a little flustered by Zhou Ming, he still addressed him as "brother" without being impolite. Seeing this, Zhou Ming reached out and helped Zhou Jun to the couch, letting him continue to lie down.

Then Zhou Jun lay on the couch, groaning and moaning.

"Brother Zhou, you've come to see me. I'm sorry, Uncle beat me pretty hard these last two times. I can't help but twitch whenever I see people around Uncle." Zhou Jun explained to Zhou Ming while lying down and groaning.

"It's alright, it's alright. I know about Shaojun's situation. Here's what happened: Brother Zou came looking for Shaojun carrying a piece of gunpowder. Should we let him in?" Zhou Ming waved his hands repeatedly upon hearing this, and then explained why he had come to find Zhou Jun.

Zhou Yu gave Zhou Jun a second good slap, fearing that something else might go wrong. After all, the fact that Zou Ta had salvaged cannon steel was too outrageous. Zhou Yu felt that seeing it once was enough, and he absolutely did not want to see it a second time. After all, he was different from veterans like Zou Ta. As the fleet commander-in-chief and governor of the four seas, Zhou Yu only needed to take one look at the scrap steel of the ship cannons that Zou Ta was carrying to know that the ship cannons were not rotten due to water erosion, but were worn flat by etching and rendered useless.

In other words, Zhou Jun, that bastard, was exactly as Zhou Yu had predicted. He really didn't have enough men, so he deliberately sank a ship and staged two plays to settle the matter.

Zhou Yu could easily deduce what would happen next. Considering that the other party had been beaten by him and the matter had been resolved, Zhou Yu was basically satisfied with Zhou Jun's quick wit.

But this is not the reason why Zhou Jun's teammate Zou Ta carried a piece of broken gun steel that had been fished out of the water and whose etched surface had been smoothed out while parading through the streets!

Suppose Zou is carrying a piece of ship gun fragment that has been eroded by water, but Zhou Yu can't find any fault with it at a glance, then Zhou Yu has nothing to say, and even thinks that Zhou Jun is good at playing, and that he has indeed done a good job. But look at what your teammate is carrying - you've revealed your secrets!

That's right. For Zhou Yu, this was equivalent to revealing his secrets. If this hadn't happened, everyone else would be speculating. Even if a smart person could figure out how it was done with a little thought, you have no evidence, so it's a case of each side having their own version of the truth.

But now your teammates have retrieved the gun steel fragments, only to find that the evidence is unfavorable. What kind of idiot are you? Just give them a piece of your mind!

"Holy shit!" Upon hearing Zhou Ming's words, Zhou Jun immediately raised his upper body and cried out in a twisted, uncontrollable manner. However, because his upper body was raised too high, the injury in his lower back was torn open, and he immediately began to scream in agony. After struggling for a while, he lay back down on the couch like a dead dog.

"What is he doing here!" Zhou Junping asked, lying on his stomach with a hint of despair.

"I'll let Brother Zou in. You two can talk it over. I think you'd better make things clear with Brother Zou; sometimes he doesn't want to use his brain," Zhou Ming said with a dry laugh. He could tell what the other party was here for just by looking at the cannon steel that Zou was carrying. This was a complicated matter.

As for Zou's lack of critical thinking, Zhou Ming said he completely understood. If superpowers can solve all problems, why bother using your brain?

"Let him in." Zhou Jun lay half-lying on the couch, his face full of sorrow and grief. But after speaking, his more than 20 years of education still made him feel that the root of the problem lay with him. It was useless to blame Zou. Moreover, the more you know about this pervert, the more you realize how perverted he is. There was no need to make things too tense. So he said to the maid who was serving him, "Go, go, go, bring some meat and vegetables over and set them out."

I didn't mean anything by it. Although Zou beat him up again, it's too late to say anything more. I still need to be on good terms with Zou, as his fighting ability is very useful.

So when Zhou Ming brought Zou over, a table of meat dishes was already laid out in front of the bed.

"Brother Zou, I just learned the family rules and can't get out of bed. You can find a place to sit. I can't have a drink with you." Zhou Jun's eyes became extremely complicated when he saw Zou carrying such a huge piece of cannon steel in. Jiangling is now a war zone, and the cloud suppression is fully activated. Yet Zou, this monster, can still move while carrying half a ton of something.

To be fair, compared to what Zhou Huan and Zhou Ming told Zhou Jun about Zou Ta's strength, and what Zhou Jun had learned while he was being tortured and burying himself in understanding world affairs, Zou Ta carrying half a ton of stuff under the suppression of the cloud energy was much more shocking to Zhou Jun.

"What happened to you? You look like you've been whipped." Zou took a deep breath, adjusted his strength, put down the large piece of gunpowder, and then asked with a hint of curiosity.

"The family rules, as I just mentioned," Zhou Jun said, bowing slightly.

"Well, luckily I come from a humble background." Zou said with a relieved expression.

"Don't say that. If I were from a humble family, I might not even be alive now." Zhou Jun looked speechless. "By the way, Brother Zou, what brings you here? I'm not feeling well today."

"This piece of gun steel is something I salvaged from Yunmeng. Do you want to buy it?" Zou asked Zhou Jun. Zhou Jun looked at the fragments of gun steel, his emotions shifting back and forth, but finally cleared up. He had to remember this; he couldn't forget it. He would keep the gun steel so that he could remember this matter deeply and remind himself to be more cautious and prudent in his future actions.

"Brother Zhou, go to the Jiangling bank and withdraw 300,000 yuan for Brother Zou. It's my way of thanking Brother Zou for helping me get it back." Zhou Jun said to Zhou Ming after his eyes regained their clarity.

"That's a bit too much, a bit too much." Although Zou really wanted to accept it, Chen Xi had been in Jiangling recently, and Zou saw Chen Xi three times a day. His moral standards had risen rapidly. He no longer touched dirty money or even gray-market activities, and only took what he was entitled to. Clearly, Zhou Jun's offer was indeed a bit too much.

"It's alright, just accept it. It's not just the cost of recycling the gun steel, but also a reward for enlightening me," Zhou Jun said with a sigh. He had completely adjusted his mindset and was beginning to face the future with a more positive attitude. However, this positivity didn't even last two seconds...

"Oh, then I'll accept it. I originally planned to sell this gun steel to the smelting company in Jiangling, but Marquis Chen asked me to bring it here to sell to you." Zou was sure that Zhou Jun was telling the truth, and after recalling Chen Xi's words, he felt that he could accept it. So he told Zhou Jun exactly what Chen Xi had asked him to say.

At this moment, Zhou Jun's face turned from white to green, then from green to red. Finally, a mouthful of blood gushed into his chest. No, it's just a small matter like the Huiji Shipyard. Even Marquis Chen personally reviewed it. How dare I, a nobody, have such qualifications?

So the reason my uncle came to beat me earlier was because Marquis Chen was specifically watching me. Fine, I deserve to die!

On the other side, Chen Xi crossed his legs and watched Zhou Yu drinking tea, but he was drinking very restlessly. There was nothing he could do. Some things could be overlooked, but if they were brought up, people would lose face. Just like Zhou Yu now, even if he had already whipped his nephew into a spinning top, he could not change the fact that he had lost face!

After all, it was just speculation at first. Even if Chen Xi and Zhou Yu knew the truth, they would only raise the issue high and then let it go easily. But now that Zou has brought this matter up, it's a real slap in the face!

"Alright, Gongjin, stop overthinking. I'm too lazy to bother with this." Chen Xi glanced at Zhou Yu, who was pretending to drink tea. He knew that what Zhou Jun had done this time had made Zhou Yu feel very ashamed. The previous round was alright, at least in terms of operation, it was correct within the bureaucratic system. But this one, Zhou Jun, couldn't you do something about Zou? Isn't he your head of the security department?

"I just feel that the younger generation isn't doing things very well," Zhou Yu sighed, sounding as if the next generation was truly disappointing!

"Alright, alright, I never expected this to happen. Luckily, I sent some of the information to Governor Liao, and he's studying and reflecting on it. Otherwise, I don't know if he would have come over to take a look." Chen Xi waved his hand and said, but Chen Xi really hadn't anticipated that Zou would be so abstract.

"Why do I feel like there's something wrong with all the elite veterans here in Jiangling?" Zhou Yu pointed to the area around his head and said, "I don't know if it's just my imagination, but I always feel like the veterans who come to Jiangling all have some minor issues."

“Your feeling is correct. There are indeed some problems with the veterans in Jiangling.” Chen Xi nodded, agreeing with Zhou Yu’s statement. The veterans in Jiangling were basically superhuman, not in terms of strength, but in terms of their performance.

That's normal, though. Most of the top veterans of the same age as Jiang Guang and his group had followed Liu Bei to the Ganges, which is why Zhang Yong, Sun Er, and others weren't in Jiangling.

The elite veterans who remained in the Han Dynasty were mostly over fifty years old. According to later research, everything that happened before I was born is taken for granted, everything that happened between the ages of fifteen and thirty is logical, and everything that happened after I was thirty can be considered anti-human. This way of thinking makes it clear why the veterans gathered in Jiangling are all extraordinary!

From the time Yuan Fengchao, Liu Bei, and Chen Xi entered Mount Tai and seized half the country, it had only been a little over twenty years. The majority of the people here were veterans over fifty, meaning they accepted this prosperous era, but their worldview had already closed before they even entered it.

This will naturally lead to many behaviors that are incompatible with the current stage.

"It sounds a bit far-fetched, but upon closer examination, it does make some sense." After thinking about it, Zhou Yu felt that what Chen Xi said seemed to have some merit.

"So there's no need to be too critical of these people's views. They formed these 'correct' opinions in that kind of environment. They may not be in line with the times, but they are indeed in line with their own beliefs. Therefore, as long as they don't go against the mainstream morality of society, there's no need to pay too much attention to them." Chen Xi said very calmly. The so-called generation gap, the so-called next generation being useless, and the so-called each generation being worse than the last are basically based on this kind of perception.

Chen Xi takes a very open-minded view of this kind of thing. Generally speaking, each generation is stronger than the last. The so-called "not as good as before" is just a difference in certain era characteristics, not in the general progress of mankind, so it's best to be open-minded about it.

"To be honest, I usually attribute this kind of thing to the self-perception of old people and don't pay much attention to it. It's just that you have nothing better to do than try to understand everything." Zhou Yu said calmly. He really didn't care much about this because, apart from Chen Xi, there was absolutely no one else who would tell Emperor Zhou, "Zhou Yu, are you out of your mind?"

"Tsk, how's the review of the God-Slaying Spear?" Chen Xi asked with a hint of sarcasm, naturally changing the subject.

"Well, the original design of the God-Slaying Spear was a mid-range projectile weapon, but now..." Zhou Yu said with a hint of complexity, as this matter was somewhat abstract and difficult to describe.

Yunmeng, Feng Hong expressionlessly activated all three God-Slaying Spears at once, stabbing them fiercely into the demon god opposite him. Then, he concentrated all his special defensive abilities on his chest and abdomen, lunged forward, and tightly embraced the demon god. A terrifying shockwave then erupted from the middle of the demon god's body, but was suppressed by Feng Hong's super strong defense, further causing an implosion.

The energy released by the three God-Slaying Spears was focused under the pressure of the high-intensity defense. After the high-density energy was constrained, it was amplified a second time. Originally, the God-Slaying Spears could only shatter the demon god, but after the power was gathered, they directly tore the demon god into pieces. Of course, the heavy armor on Feng Hong's chest was also dented because it was used as a cannon barrel.

Even Feng Hong himself experienced chest tightness, but it didn't matter. The demon god was blasted into pieces and immediately entered the stage of pounding rice cakes.

"Is this even possible?" Feng Hong's teammate Zhou Er asked, somewhat shocked, as he watched Feng Hong utterly destroy the demon god, which should have taken a considerable amount of time and considerable risk. He then picked up his weapon and began pounding rice cakes.

"Old Zhou, do you know what? When I first saw the God-Slaying Spear, I felt that this was the most correct way to use it. What is the biggest advantage between you and me?" Feng Hong swung his Hunyuan Spear and bombarded the large chunks of demon god's flesh with all his might, quickly scattering them. Then, he exhaled smoke and said with great excitement.

"Using this thing as a mid-range projectile weapon is just so-so. At best, it's only as powerful as Old Zhang's bow and arrow. And for melee units like ours, which don't have guaranteed hits or lock-on capabilities, it might even get dodged. So why throw it?" Feng Hong's eyes gleamed with excitement. As a superman, a superman who knew his own strengths best, he had finally obtained a weapon that could bring out his strengths. So why use it according to the instructions?

"That seems to be true. Our biggest advantage is that we're tough and thick-skinned." Zhou Er swung his large cleaver and cut the demon god's flesh, which had been painstakingly gathered into a single piece, into small pieces. Then, he unleashed a power explosion to turn it into minced meat.

"Our armor, combined with our talents, can withstand a single finishing move. But can those stronger opponents withstand it? They might not. We may not be that fierce in killing enemies, but we have no problem holding the line on the battlefield. I was once whipped by the Kushan's internal energy leaving my body under the clouds. Have you ever been whipped?" Feng Hong kicked a piece of flesh that was rapidly multiplying and had tentacles sticking out of it. After destroying it in a few kicks, he said with an expression that showed he had completely understood the new style of warfare!

“I was also attacked by the Kushan’s internal energy leaving my body,” Zhou Er said with lingering fear.

For a time, the internal energy of the Kushans was so rampant that even the Han Dynasty thought it was man-made. During that period, most of the top-ranking veteran soldiers had been hit by the internal energy of the Kushans. Because of this, the top-ranking veteran soldiers of the Han Dynasty had no respect for the internal energy of the Kushans anymore – "I've been hit by internal energy, I'll hit them back!"

As for whether I won or not, that's another matter. Just tell me whether I won or not. Anyway, as long as I'm careful and don't get my face armor pierced, I can still withstand it thanks to my armor and super strong defense.

"So, our defensive capabilities far outweigh our offensive capabilities, especially with our special defensive finishing moves, which come in handy right now," Feng Hong said with great enthusiasm. Survival skills need to be trained, but offense can be cheated. Look, isn't this a very successful form of cheating?

“That’s true. After we kill this one, we can try the other target. I’ll go this time and test if I can handle it,” Zhou Er said in a low voice. He thought Feng Hong’s words made a lot of sense; this kind of move still needed to be practiced.

"Alright, let's take care of this thing first. We didn't exert much effort today, and our energy is still at its peak. We're just killing time. Even if we encounter an accident, we can still escape." Feng Hong thought for a moment. Today, because of the God-Slaying Spear, there was no life-or-death struggle. We destroyed the demon god in just a few breaths. The rest is just fighting the rice cake. Even if we encounter danger, we can still escape.

Meanwhile, Kou Feng, who was in Changsha to pay respects to his ancestors, had received a notification from Chen Xi and learned what had happened in Yunmeng. Of course, Chen Xi did not ask Kou Feng to come to Jiangling, but instead asked Kou Feng to strengthen the blockade in Changsha to prevent the occasional wandering demons from heading south instead of west or north.

In the past two days, Kou Feng organized the core members of their Kou family's old residence to conduct reconnaissance on the edge of Yunmeng and north of Dongting Lake. As the saying goes, even if top-notch sound assassins are old and can no longer be used as high-level combatants, they are still perfectly capable of serving as scouts.

The large-scale sonic blockade placed the entire Yunmeng region near Changsha within the reconnaissance zone of the Sound Killers. To this day, the veterans under the Kou family have not discovered a single Yunmeng demon wandering over Changsha County, although they have found quite a few strange natural treasures.

"Korma, what do you mean by saying you've discovered some rare treasure?" Kou Feng asked curiously, looking at Korma II, the Dawn Warrior who inherited the faith and will of Korma, the seed of the righteous army left to him by his father.

To be fair, the difference between Kou Feng and Kou Jun is that Kou Jun discriminates against everyone equally, while Kou Feng, fortunately, received some normal education and had experienced the Arctic Circle training, so he does not discriminate against others. Instead, he considers everyone left to him by his father to be human. Therefore, these seeds of hope who were once willing to follow Kou Jun to the death and were willing to exchange their lives for Kou Jun's survival quickly submitted to Kou Feng.

After all, the Dawn-Chengyi Army risked their lives to carry his father, ensuring that his father would live to the last moment before the entire army was wiped out. Kou Feng respected that terrifying will to the extreme. Faced with soldiers who were willing to risk their lives to protect his father, Kou Feng naturally treated them like family members. Anyway, he was the only legitimate son in the Kou family. Since you have my father's approval, you can all sit at the table!

This feeling made Shuguang, who had risked his life for Kou Jun once, willing to risk his life for Kou Feng again. In addition, in order to inherit his predecessor's belief in protecting Kou Jun and to express his loyalty, the seed leader that Kou Jun left for Kou Feng changed his name to Kou Erma.

Although this practice wasn't very popular in the Han Dynasty, it was quite interesting in Rome and the Kushan Empire. However, Kou Feng found it a bit strange, so he changed his name from Captain of the Dawn Guard to Kolma II!

This is an extremely loyal bodyguard, just like Qi Xuan and Liu Shang back then, someone you could entrust your life to. So when Kouerma said that he had discovered a rare treasure in Yunmeng, Kou Feng, who was fine at the time, came over. Then he saw a thing that had been cut into pieces, but you could roughly tell that it was a human-shaped He Shou Wu (Polygonum multiflorum). Moreover, it was huge in size, and you could tell it was a rare treasure just by looking at it with the naked eye!

It should be noted here that, like Korma I, Korma II had followed Kusroy, met the first Dawn of Rahul, and traveled to the Dalit Chola dynasty. In the end, he submitted to the new king, Korjun, and became Korjun's bodyguard.

When they went north to Qunu City, Kormá and his group also received the Devouring Talent that Kusroy had given to all Dalits, thus completing their foundation.

It's fair to say that at this stage, you can't tell what kind of background Korma has. Thanks to muscle-building injections, bone-strengthening injections, saffron remedies, various high-end dietary supplements from the Korma family, and Kusroy's devouring talent, Korma is now 1.75 meters tall with a muscular physique, looking like a muscle lump from a distance.

However, what's most terrifying about Korma isn't her muscular physique, but her superhuman willpower and the terrifying willpower that allows her to use her physical willpower light gun for basic attacks. The Seeds of Dawn who survived the battle where Kou Jun died were the carefully selected heirs left behind by Kou Jun. So, in addition to loyalty, she also has ability. Simply put, Korma is a person whose willpower has broken through limits.

This is why Korma considers this humanoid He Shou Wu to be a rare and precious treasure. With its unique configuration, let alone a demon god, even Wu Zixu would have to digest it once it entered his stomach. After all, if the Yellow Turbans are special talents with superhuman digestive and absorption abilities selected in this generation, then Dalit, unless he was demoted by this generation, must have gone through generations of selection.

Combined with Kormma's terrifying Devouring and Refining talent, which has been trained to its limit and can consume stones to replenish calcium, as well as his willpower that completely ignores pollution, he is a natural enemy, an absolute natural enemy!

However, Kouma's good intentions almost caused Kou Feng to let out a sharp explosion. A human-shaped He Shou Wu (a type of medicinal herb), this guy is a demon god!

"Where did you find this?" Kou Feng suppressed his shock. If this kind of thing got into Changsha, the city would suffer heavy losses.

"While patrolling here, my sonic killing talent caught a faint trace, so I went to investigate and found this human-shaped He Shou Wu. It took some effort to take it down, and I even gnawed on the edges and corners. My lord, it's really a great tonic!" As she spoke, Kormma excitedly pulled over her shiny black hair, indicating that it was indeed a great tonic.

To be fair, only Korma's setup truly counters the Demon God. If someone with similar strength to Korma were to encounter this thing, they might just be doomed.

"Go and inform Hu Hao and Liu Shang to be careful. You'll have to deal with this yourself. I can't take it. It's a humanoid elixir, and certain conditions must be met before it can be taken. I can't take this. If you think it's effective, then you can just eat it yourself," Kou Feng said expressionlessly.

Kou Feng mainly learned the Sonic Assassin skill from the New Dawn Seed. After getting used to it, Kou Feng really found it quite useful. It has reconnaissance, control, area damage, and breakthrough capabilities. As for survivability, my Sonic Assassin can wear armor, so don't worry!

Soon, Changsha was also bustling with activity. Regardless of how this He Shou Wu, who had been transformed by Koulma, came to be, his appearance in this place was simply wrong, and Changsha County had to go on high alert. The reason why the Demon God was more difficult to deal with than the defeated army was that even if the defeated army ate people, at least they knew that this behavior was wrong, and they would not attack the main camp casually unless necessary. But the Demon God...

I don't care what you are, I'll just charge! Relying on the recovery power brought by super-fast regeneration, a single demon god basically has the combat power to wipe out a village.

So when the governor of Changsha received the news that such a thing had appeared in the Yunmeng Marsh, he was stunned. Fortunately, in addition to him, there was the Kou family, a super-rich family descended from the founding marquis, in their prefecture. In the past, he always complained that such a family made his orders difficult to implement, but now, Kou family, step up!

"There have also been scattered, unmarked demon gods appearing in Changsha?" Chen Xi looked at the urgent report sent by Kou Feng with a headache, feeling utterly exasperated.

“Why don’t we fight the main force of the Demon God that has already extended here? My battlefield is ready. As for the cloud energy, didn’t you already draw some from other regions along the main transportation routes? Even if we don’t completely create a cloud energy gap, it shouldn’t be a problem to suppress the Demon God on the other side, right?” Sun Qian said casually, looking at Chen Xi’s solemn expression.

"Delay it for two more days. In two more days, I will transfer the cloud energy from Chang'an here." Chen Xi revealed the truth to Sun Qian. After all, Sun Qian had built all the major transportation routes in the country, so he knew exactly what was buried underneath.

"Can it form a cloud formation?" Sun Qian asked with some concern.

"I've done the calculations, and it probably won't work. But if we include the more than 600,000 able-bodied men drawn from the five provinces of Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Yizhou, and Jiaozhou, that should be enough to create a cloud-like difference. Even if it's not enough, with the methods I have here, strengthening the collective will should be sufficient," Chen Xi said in a deep voice.

Besides overseeing operations and dealing with the Yunmeng Demon God, Chen Xi also came to Jiangling to mobilize able-bodied soldiers from various regions to test the strength of the forces.

After all, the most important task in the eleventh year of Yuanfeng was to verify military strength. Although the region was changed from Jizhou in the north to Jingzhou in the south, the core point remained the same. The only drawback was that Xuzhou was neither in the north nor the south. Previously, when it was said that the five northern provinces were being verified, Xuzhou was not included. This time, when it was verified that the five southern provinces were being verified, Xuzhou was not included either.

"The cloud energy reserves drawn from the vicinity of Jiangling and Yongzhou, plus 600,000 able-bodied men, along with the guidance of the imperial will, should be about right." Sun Qian calculated in his mind. He had also organized a million able-bodied men to work before, so he had a good idea of ​​how large the cloud energy reserves could be.

"However, it will take some time at this stage," Chen Xi said with some caution. It was spring plowing season, and Chen Xi couldn't mobilize troops on a large scale. He could only operate within the capacity of each prefecture and county. However, after a rough calculation, he figured there shouldn't be any major problems.

"Can more than 600,000 troops arrive on time?" Sun Qian frowned deeply. "And can the relevant logistical support be effectively maintained?"

"There's no need to worry about the army arriving on time. Except for Yizhou, where Chen Yuanlong replied that it would take some time, the other places are fine. Zhang Song has received the transfer order and has transferred 30,000 men from the farms in Yangzhou and another 50,000 men from various counties. In Jiaozhou, Governor Shi has transferred 60,000 men from various factories in Jiaozhou. There are no problems with these two places," Chen Xi said calmly.

Needless to say, Jingxiang is Liao Li's stronghold. For such a big event, Liao Li has mobilized all the manpower he can. He has taken out a large-scale loan from Chang'an Bank and purchased a large amount of agricultural machinery, which he has leased to local areas in the name of the state to ensure that the spring plowing can be carried out after a large number of young and strong people leave the area. In short, Liao Li has come up with every possible solution.

"Hmm, have you been checking the accounts lately?" Sun Qian suddenly changed the subject.

"Huh?" Chen Xi looked at Sun Qian with some surprise. "No, Gongyou, are you afraid of someone checking your inventory? In this day and age, who would check your inventory?"

To reiterate, given Sun Qian's current situation, unless Chen Xi explicitly orders an audit of Sun Qian's treasury, no one else can investigate his accounts. Moreover, even if Chen Xi explicitly orders an audit, unless there is clear evidence of any treasonous behavior by Sun Qian, Chen Xi will give Sun Qian the order to conduct the audit himself. In that case, Sun Qian will throw out a few people, and the matter will be settled.

“No, what I mean is that most of the veterans who went home for the New Year holiday have returned in the last couple of days. Someone told me about this, saying that the inventory checks have been quite thorough recently, and some people on their side have already been caught.” Sun Qian didn’t think much of it when he heard this and told Chen Xi what he knew.

Chen Xi nodded upon hearing this. Currently, the inspection is being conducted on three groups of people. One group consists of Mahinda, Rangarajan, and Serian. These three have a complete set of documents, are affiliated with the Central Investigation Team, and have protection, making it very formal. As for why the inspection is being conducted, on the one hand, it's to broaden Serian's horizons, and on the other hand, Chen Xi has also set targets for Mahinda, so that Mahinda doesn't need to save face. The inspection isn't about checking for missing documents, but about replacing personnel.

As for the other two groups, one group was the princess. Needless to say, people can come and see whatever they want. From a feudal perspective, it's not an inventory check, but a check of how much money one has left. Liu Tong's visit this time was intended to be an investigation, so it's normal.

The third batch was much more serious. The nationwide audits triggered by the shipyards in Wu County and Kuaiji were handled by Liu Ye and Man Chong, who formed an investigation team and auditors to go down and examine each one. In short, local officials were starting to hate Xu Hu, since it was all this idiot who caused all the trouble. If the handover had been smooth, or if they had followed the example of Kuaiji, none of this would have happened.

After all, who can say that every state and county warehouse is without problems?

As a result, things have become much more tense lately, with everyone conducting self-examinations. After all, during the Yuanfeng era, if there are no problems when the higher-ups come to investigate, that's still respectable. But if the higher-ups come and things haven't been fixed...

I really can't manage ten updates anymore. I'm getting old, and I still have to work; I'm exhausted. A big update will do as a token gesture. There'll be an extra chapter later.