Shen Tang prided herself on keeping her head down and living quietly. She'd spent more than two years recuperating and rebuilding, and had grown so kind and gentle she could've passed for a lay Buddhist who ate vegetarian and prayed to Buddha.
She hadn't expected that, before she'd even gone looking for trouble, her neighbor Qiu Cheng would come knocking to loot her granaries. How could Shen Tang, who'd rarely suffered a serious loss since her debut, swallow that insult? But this wasn't a war she could simply start at the drop of a hat.
Shen Tang was so angry she could barely think straight.
"Why?"
Chu Yao looked troubled as he explained.
It wasn't for any other reason—
It was mainly because of the autumn harvest.
The timing was just too awkward.
Nanyu County had been forced to harvest early because of the weather, while the other counties were only just beginning. The annual autumn harvest was a major undertaking, requiring a great deal of manpower. The government offices were swamped from top to bottom... If Shen Tang sent out troops now without a care, she might kick down the door to Qiu Cheng's lair with one foot, only for another neighbor to catch wind of it and send troops to her territory for a little zero-cost shopping with the other.
"...If we send out troops at this time, we'll inevitably be caught in a bind, unable to protect both the front and the rear. How can we know this isn't exactly what Qiu Wenyan wants? If this is a ploy to lure us away, not only will all the commoners' hard work in Longwu Commandery go to waste, but Longwu Commandery will also be left at a disadvantage. I beg you, my lord, to calm down for a