Shen Tang's response nearly left Gongyang Yongye speechless.
How had he never noticed that she had such thick skin?
"Shouldn't you have insisted that you came by the will of Heaven, under the gods' command, to save the world? Aren't you afraid that one day, when this old man's had too much to drink, he'll spread those words of yours around?" Gongyang Yongye didn't hold back.
Shen Tang nearly rolled her eyes. "As if that many people believe it now. Are there really so few people gossiping about me behind my back?"
Some sharp minds had already realized that she'd had a hand in the Eternal Life Cult's rebellion. They also knew the Saint Child was one of Shen Tang's people. But what good was knowing that? Could they produce enough grain to feed millions of disaster victims? Was Shen Tang showing off her conscience? No, she was showing off her strength!
She could provide relief supplies for millions of disaster victims and promise to keep the aid flowing until they were settled and self-sufficient. That meant she could also afford to keep hundreds of thousands of elite troops fighting for a long time. If Shen Tang's moral standards weren't so high—if she were just a little more shameless—she could easily resort to a scorched-earth strategy.
Every few days, she could find an excuse to lead a large cavalry force of martial gall warriors on lightning raids across the region, disrupting agricultural work and looting food and valuables from the people. She could do it several times a year. She could afford to drag things out. Which country in the southwest had the resources to keep up?
This relief effort had three layers. The first was to comfort the disaster victims.
The second was to intimidate the occupied territories and