Although Shen Tang had been thinking along those lines too,—
Gu Chi's question was rather too direct.
Since he'd been so direct, she had to be honest in return.
She answered earnestly, "Of course I do."
Whether for her own sake or for the hundred or so people here.
At the thought, her gaze darkened.
Her Way of the Feudal Lord came with too many restrictions. If she wanted to lie low and quietly build up her strength, she needed a stable patch of land. Without one, she had no room to develop in peace. People had two legs and could carry their belongings as they fled, but crops couldn't.
Crops needed time to grow from planting to harvest.
It wasn't as though Shen Tang had never considered setting herself up as a mountain bandit queen.
But that was far too risky; it could only be considered a last resort.
After all, Shen Tang wasn't the rightful owner of the land beneath her feet! Her claim lacked legitimacy, giving others every right to attack her under the banner of "ridding the people of harm" and "suppressing bandits." Even if she trusted her own strength and feared no outside harassment, striking down every attacker who came—
But—
A thief could lie in wait for a thousand days, but how could one guard against thieves for a thousand days?
The latter would always find an opportunity to strike.
Even if they succeeded only once in ten attempts, Shen Tang might lose any chance of bouncing back. She had too little capital and couldn't afford to be put through the wringer!
Thinking further ahead, if she wanted to recruit refugees and put them to work for her, expanding her own ranks, she'd need a patch of land to settle them on, wouldn't she?