Chapter 305: As long as you work hard enough, Southern Jiang Prince will definitely lead the life he desires!
“Southern Jiang Prince, come out and fight!”
“Don’t hide in there silently, I know you’re in there!”
“Are you trying to be a coward?”
The voices of the court’s soldiers were filled with arrogance.
Southern Jiang Prince was consumed with rage, rushing to the bank and shouting, “Bring me men! I want to cross to the other side and fight!”
The Southern Jiang generals were taken aback. “But, Your Highness…”
“I mean the advanced experts. The rest of you continue to cook!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
Thus, a few advanced experts charged across. The advanced experts from the court followed suit. Once again, they engaged in a fierce battle on the Songjiang River.
Lin Beifan led his army to observe the battle, continuously waving flags and shouting. The momentum and fighting spirit grew stronger and stronger.
The Southern Jiang soldiers were so hungry that their stomachs were sticking to their backs. They were now busy cooking and eating, utterly devoid of the energy to shout. Their morale and fighting spirit were waning.
In the end, the outcome of battle mainly depended on strength. If the strength was equal, other factors came into play. These included logistical support, strategic planning, as well as the morale and momentum of both sides. The side that was stronger would emerge victorious.
Although the advanced experts of Southern Jiang had decent strength and performed reasonably well, they were always a bit weaker when it came to morale. Fighting in such circumstances felt incredibly suffocating and uncomfortable.
Southern Jiang Prince watched with flames of anger in his eyes, feeling both suffocated and miserable. Looking up at the still falling rain, he cursed once more, “This cursed weather! I hate rainy days!”
The advanced experts battled for another day without a clear advantage on either side. Finally, the drums sounded, calling for the end of the fight.
It was time to cook and eat again. The alluring aroma of rice, meat, and wine wafted across the river once more. The Southern Jiang soldiers were now famished and even more tantalized by these scents.
“They are cooking again, and that rice smells amazing!”
“They even have meat and wine. It’s too extravagant! Those who serve the court are really lucky. I envy them!”
“Is our porridge ready? When can we have a meal?”
“We’ve only had a bowl of porridge in the past two days, which is like drinking water!”
“The porridge isn’t ready, and I’m starving!”
…
Southern Jiang Prince was growing increasingly anxious. In the past two days, he had achieved nothing but cooking porridge. How could he continue the battle? How could he achieve his ambitions?
“Is it ready yet?” Southern Jiang Prince urged.
“Your Highness, there’s no more porridge!” Wang Fugui said bitterly.
Southern Jiang Prince was furious. “With so much grain, are you telling me there’s no porridge?”
Wang Fugui hurriedly replied, “Your Highness, there’s enough grain, but we’ve run out of firewood! The firewood has been soaked by the rain, making it impossible to light a fire. To collect firewood, we have to venture out of the rain zone. However, with the time it takes to do that…”
Southern Jiang Prince was furious again. “I didn’t want to hear your excuses! I want every soldier to have a full meal by tomorrow morning. If it’s not done, they will be dealt with according to military law!”
Wang Fugui trembled in fear. “Your Highness, I’ll take care of it!”
And so, Wang Fugui led a large group of soldiers to gather firewood.
But it wasn’t until the morning of the second day that they managed to bring a few carts of firewood. But it was like a drop in the ocean, utterly insufficient. The Southern Jiang soldiers grew even hungrier, lying on the ground weakly, their hands on their stomachs and their eyes vacant, resembling corpses.
At this point, they were so weak that they didn’t even want to talk, lacking the strength to do so.
Southern Jiang Prince was anxious, and his frustration was evident on his face. “Let’s just have everyone soak their food in water and drink it!”
“But Your Highness, that could cause digestion problems…”
“I can’t worry about that anymore. If we wait any longer, everyone will starve!”
“Yes, Your Highness!”
So, they directly soaked the grain in water and had some soldiers eat it.
However, eating raw rice was likely to cause indigestion. This rice was old, discolored, and infested with insects. The starving soldiers who had been surviving on empty stomachs suffered intense pain after eating it. They suffered from severe vomiting and diarrhea, leaving them even weaker than before.
Several soldiers were already on the brink of starvation and, combined with their malnutrition and potential illnesses, eating the raw rice caused them to die, wracked with pain.
Seeing this, Southern Jiang Prince immediately halted everyone from eating the raw rice. They could endure hunger for a few more days, but eating the raw rice would likely lead to more deaths.
“What should we do?” Southern Jiang Prince was at a loss, his head turning white with worry.
Helpless, he turned and looked across the river, where he saw Lin Beifan and other officials sitting by the riverbank, enjoying fragrant rice, succulent roasted meat, and rich wine, while relishing in their misery.
Southern Jiang Prince exploded in anger, gritting his teeth and cursing, “That bastard! This despicable scoundrel! That whore’s son…”
At this moment, Lin Beifan seemed to sense something. He raised his wine cup and offered a toast towards Southern Jiang Prince from a distance.
His triumphant expression ignited an intense desire in Southern Jiang Prince to rush over and tear him apart.
With no other options, Southern Jiang Prince approached the elderly grandmaster and respectfully bowed. “Elder, you’ve seen my situation. Could you please lend a hand to help me out of this predicament?”
The master opened his eyes and spoke calmly, “Your Highness, I promised to ensure your safety. Matters of war and military strategy are not within my purview. Asking me to massacre ordinary soldiers is beyond what I can accept.”
Southern Jiang Prince’s expression darkened.
However, the grandmaster’s tone softened. “But… if Your Highness insists on my intervention, I can consider it. However, once I help, the debt of gratitude between us will be cleared, and we shall have no further obligations to each other.”
Southern Jiang Prince was taken aback. “There’s no need for that, Elder. I can handle this matter myself.”
The master closed his eyes again to rest.
Southern Jiang Prince returned, his face full of distress. He looked at his half-dead soldiers, then across the river at the well-fed and contented court soldiers, his heart filled with both anger and powerlessness.
On the fourth day, the rain finally stopped, but the firewood was still damp. There was no way to start a fire and cook the porridge. So, the Southern Jiang soldiers continued to endure hunger, continuing their lifeless existence.
The court’s soldiers continued to eat well and drink heartily, brimming with energy, guarding the opposite bank.
The advanced experts from both sides battled for a while before returning.
On the fifth day, they expected the weather to improve, but it rained again. It was still that cursed yin-yang rain, only falling on the Southern Jiang side while leaving the other side unaffected.
Southern Jiang Prince’s mood was terrible. Every time he wanted to achieve something big, the weather turned against him. It felt like the heavens were deliberately targeting him.
The Southern Jiang soldiers continued to endure hunger, continuing their lifeless existence. The court’s soldiers continued to eat well and drink heartily, brimming with energy, guarding the opposite bank.
Both sides’ advanced experts were too lazy to fight anymore. On the evening of the sixth day, Lin Beifan arrived at the bank carrying a bottle of wine and a cup, pouring and drinking by himself, drawing the attention of the Southern Jiang crowd.
“What does he want to do?”
At this moment, Lin Beifan suddenly shouted, facing the opposite bank, “Southern Jiang soldiers, how long are you going to endure? Are you still following Southern Jiang Prince until now? What are you aiming for? His thick skin? Or his lack of hygiene?”
Southern Jiang Prince’s face turned dark. “This little bastard dares to speak ill of me like this!”
Lin Beifan continued, “What kind of person is Southern Jiang Prince? Aren’t you aware?”
“In the past, during a severe flood, he abandoned a million disaster victims, forcing them all out of Southern Jiang. He would rather watch them starve than release a single grain of relief food!”
“Those victims were your fellow townspeople, maybe even your own relatives. Yet, he discarded them like this! Such a heartless and ungrateful person, is he still worthy of your allegiance?”
“By following such a self-centered person, what good future can you expect?”
His voice echoed loudly, spreading throughout the area. The Southern Jiang soldiers listened, shaken to their core.
Having their scars exposed right in front of them, Southern Jiang Prince’s face turned iron-gray, and he roared in anger, “Enough! Stop talking!”
“Is there anything that cannot be said to others? Why keep silent? Are officials the only ones allowed to set fires while the common people cannot light a lamp?”
Lin Beifan chuckled, “Southern Jiang Prince, you’re too domineering! Can you suppress things for a moment? Can you suppress them for a lifetime? Can you silence us, can you silence the mouths of all the people under heaven?”
Southern Jiang Prince’s face grew even darker, his fury mounting.
However, Lin Beifan continued, “Actually, I understand you all very well! Most of you followed Southern Jiang Prince mainly to make a living, to survive. There’s nothing wrong with that in itself.”
“But now, can you still survive?”
“In these six days, you haven’t even had a full meal. Many have died of hunger. What future do you have following a person like this? You might as well go back and eat wild grass roots. You might survive!”
“Staying here is just waiting for death!”
“You want to live, but Southern Jiang Prince wants you dead! Either we kill you, or you starve to death! Southern Jiang soldiers, is this the result you want?”
The Southern Jiang soldiers’ resolve wavered once again. Indeed, what future did they have by continuing like this?
They followed Southern Jiang Prince mainly to survive and make a living. But now they couldn’t even eat their fill. How could they go on like this?
Even if they made it to the opposite bank, they might be killed by the enemy. It was all death. They might as well go back and scrounge for food, and maybe they could survive!
Seeing the expressions of the soldiers, Southern Jiang Prince realized the situation was dire. He shouted loudly, “Soldiers, the difficulties are only temporary, and they can be overcome! I promise, as long as we reach the opposite bank, there will be food, fat meat, and fine wine! Anything you can think of, it will all be there!”
Lin Beifan immediately chimed in, “Exactly, everything will be there! As long as you put in enough effort, your lord will definitely live the life he desires! He can have lavish feasts, luxurious clothing, indulgent company, he can even become an emperor, ruling over all! But what about you? What have you gained?”
“You can only continue to eat dirt, drink sour water, go without meals, continue to starve and freeze, and you might even head to the afterlife sooner than expected!”
“In essence, your lives are worthless, and Southern Jiang Prince doesn’t care! Because he has always been a heartless, ungrateful, self-centered person!!!”
