Chapter 239: Bribe
Editor: Atlas Studios
The soldiers who had already been “killed” by Mu Yangling were already waiting at the foot of the mountain with Mu Yangling’s prey and bow and arrow. When they saw the two of them come out, they immediately stood up and lined up, calling out, “Little General, Miss Mu.”
Qi Haoran nodded and waved his hand. “Two of you leave behind to carry the things. The rest of you, return to the camp.”
He glanced at the prey that Mu Yangling had hunted and asked, “Is your family short of money?” In his impression, Mu Yangling preferred hunting things like deer, roe deer, and rabbits. She only hunted wild boars when she was short of money.
“No, this is for my uncles to thank them for completing the construction of my new house.” Mu Yangling pointed at the sun on the horizon and said, “Look, I originally could’ve been done in half a day, but because of you, I was delayed for a day.”
Mu Yangling looked at the two soldiers carrying the wild boar and said, “Alright, help me carry my house. I’ll send it to my uncles later.”
“Just buy one with money. There’s no need to spend so much effort.”
Mu Yangling only smiled. Aside from the fact that she had a lot of time now, she typically would not spend money when she could. Furthermore, it was not difficult for her to hunt a wild boar.
Mu Yangling changed the topic and asked, “Weren’t you staying in Hanzhong Prefecture? Why are you back?”
“The 5th Division is here, so I naturally have to come back and take a look.” Qi Haoran slowed down and the two of them gradually distanced themselves from the soldiers in front. Only then did Qi Haoran say in a low voice, “I want to ask you to do me a favor.”
Mu Yangling raised her eyebrows and looked at him.
“I know you can fight, and you’re good at raids. I want you to give me a reference.”
Mu Yangling asked, “Why don’t you look for Big Brother Qi? Considering he’s been in battle for so many years, isn’t he more experienced than us?”
“We can’t let Big Brother know about this. He definitely won’t agree.”
“What do you want?”
“I want to steal horses.”
Mu Yangling stopped in her tracks. “The Jin soldiers’?”
“No, West Xia’s.” Qi Haoran said, “I’ve investigated the Jin Kingdom before. Perhaps because they just lost the Hanzhong Prefecture, they are too vigilant at the moment. The risk is too high. On the other hand, West Xia is watching the commotion. Moreover, there’s a small horse farm in West Xia not far from the Hanzhong Prefecture. There are more than 200 horses inside meant for the West Xia guards nearby.”
This area was far from West Xia’s country, so strategic supplies could not be delivered on time. However, this was the border of the three countries, and there were constant wars. Therefore, West Xia and the Jin Kingdom had special horse farms here to raise horses to replace the losses of the army.
This was also the reason why Qi Haoran wanted to build a horse farm. The horses of the other two countries could be replaced immediately after they were injured or killed. Only the Great Zhou still had to spend time and effort to buy them. Coupled with the time spent on transportation, it would be good enough if they could get them in three months.
On the battlefield, an instant could change the outcome of the battle, let alone three months.
Since he didn’t have the money to buy the horses, he could only snatch them.
Mu Yangling did not think that he was wrong. Instead, she thought about it seriously and said in a low voice, “I want the topographic map of the neighboring mountain on the left, as well as the topographic map and defensive map of the border between the three countries.”
Qi Haoran rolled his eyes and said, “I also want the defensive map of the border of the three countries, but where can I go to find it if even the Emperor doesn’t have it?”
“Then mark what you know.” Mu Yangling said, “You can’t let the people of West Xia know that it was you who stole their horses, right?”
Having just recovered Hanzhong Prefecture, it might look like the West Camp’s morale was high, but they had also suffered a huge loss. Otherwise, Qi Xiuyuan would not have ordered a shrinking of the defense line, and merely guarded Hanzhong Prefecture instead of pursuing the victory.
Qi Haoran was the commander of the army, so he naturally knew the situation of the West Camp better than Mu Yangling. After a moment of silence, he said, “I’ve already found many Jin Kingdom’s soldiers’ costumes.”
Mu Yangling pursed her lips and smiled. The two of them had the same thought.
Qi Haoran snorted. “Since West Xia took the blame for us once, we’ll let the Jin Kingdom take the blame for us this time.”
After Qi Xiuyuan pinned the death of the Jin Kingdom’s Crown Prince on West Xia, the situation in the Jin Kingdom and West Xia was tense now. At least before the war in Hanzhong Prefecture, the two countries were fighting fiercely.
Mu Yangling said regretfully, “Actually, I’d be more inclined to believe that West Xia stole the Jin Kingdom’s horses when they were down. That’d be more convincing.”
Frowning, Qi Haoran said, “They’re too vigilant. The losses of robbing the Jin Kingdom are too great.”
“Let’s go. I’ll look for you tomorrow, okay?”
Qi Haoran really wanted to drag Mu Yangling to the campsite now, but the sun was about to set and Mu Yangling was a girl. He couldn’t keep her in the campsite for the night, so he could only reluctantly agree.
Mu Yangling carried the wild boar to West Village and was seen by the children at the village entrance as soon as she entered.
The children immediately wailed and shouted, “Slaughter the pig! Slaughter the pig!”
An adult opened the door and came out to take a look. When he saw Mu Yangling carrying a wild boar weighing more than 200 catties, he could not help but click his tongue. He said enviously, “This is for Liu Ting and Liu Yuan’s family, right? They must have accumulated good karma for 18 lifetimes to have such a niece. It’s even more useful than a son.”
“The key is filial piety. Ever since they moved here, they’ve received a lot of pheasants, rabbits, and roe deers. And now, she even brought over a wild boar.”
However, the Liu clan knew that this wild boar did not belong to Liu Ting and Liu Yuan, but to all the Liu clansmen who went to help build the Mu family’s house.
They thought that the two pieces of pork they had brought back that day were all that they would receive. After all, five catties of pork was not a small amount. For 12 people, that totalled to 60 catties…
Unexpectedly, Mu Yangling carried over a wild boar now. So she was only fulfilling her promise today.
Those who had gone to help the Mu family build their house turned around and called their families to go to Liu Ting’s house.
Before Mu Yangling reached Liu Ting’s house, Liu Ting received the news. He laughed and shook his head. “Ah Ling is trying to win people’s hearts, eh. Ah Lang, pack your things. We’re treating the clan to a wild boar feast tonight.”
Eldest Great-aunt Liu took out a pot from the house and handed it to Madam Liu-Zhang. She said, “Go and collect grains from every family. Take note not to collect too little or too much.”
This was the rule of the clan. Whoever hosted the wild boar feast would only serve the dish, but the rice would be provided by each family.
Mu Yangling placed the wild boar in the courtyard and said, “Uncle, I’ll leave the wild boar here for you. You and Uncle can discuss how to split this equally among the 12 of you.”
“Ah Ling, it’s only for the 12 families? Aren’t you going to let Aunt try it? Your cousin hasn’t tasted meat for more than half a year.”
Mu Yangling smiled shyly and said, “Aunt, I promised to give this to my cousins. This is theirs. You have to ask them if you wish to have some.”
Third Aunt Liu sneered. “Sister-in-law, don’t make things difficult for Ah Ling. If you asked your family head to help the Mu family with Uncle Ting and the rest, wouldn’t you also receive a share now?”
The other families who had a share immediately nodded. “That’s right, that’s right. This is Ah Ling’s reward for her uncles and cousins.”
Mu Yangling touched her nose. She knew that there would be some twists and turns when she sent the things over. Liu Ting pulled Ah Ling over and waved at the juniors behind her. “Why are you still standing there? Are you waiting for me to serve you? Hurry up and get a knife. The sun is about to set. We have to shave the boar and cut it open quickly.”
The youngsters immediately cheered and ran home to get a knife. The women surrounding them did not have time to chat anymore. They went into the house to boil water, cook rice, and go to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables. Used to doing these jobs, they were very orderly.
Liu Ting pulled Mu Yangling outside and said, “Are you staying tonight?”
Mu Yangling shook her head. “You can host it. I have to go home and watch over my mother and the others.”
Liu Ting nodded. Since they were no longer staying in the same village, it was indeed inappropriate for Mu Yangling to spend the night outside. Thinking of what had happened just now, he pointed at Mu Yangling again and said with a smile, “You’re getting smarter. If anything happens to the Mu family in the future, the clan won’t refuse to help next time.”