One's Own Job

[Heaven Dou Empire], Fasinuo Province, 100 miles south of Nuoding City.

"Have the people from the [Water Wood Duchy] arrived yet?"

Wearing a suit of gleaming gold armor, Ge Er rode atop a black-striped White Tiger and casually asked his personal guards, who were riding tall horses beside him.

Although the guard remained seated on horseback, he promptly bowed and saluted, replying, "Reporting to the Marshal, they have arrived. They arrived yesterday. At that time, you were handling military affairs, so Commander Zhuo Er arranged for them to find their own place to camp outside our camp..."

"Hmm~" Ge Er casually glanced at the "Blue Silver Grass" plants near and far, nodded. He had just thought of it and asked the question casually, but he didn't really care.

Of course, he had absolutely no intention of meeting the "reinforcements" from the [Water Wood Duchy].

They're nothing but cannon fodder.

[Water Wood Duchy] camp.

Jiang Yuan patrolled the area with practiced ease, paying attention to the soldiers' morale and occasionally exchanging a few words with them.

"Brother Yuan."

When Jiang Yuan returned to his tent, he saw Li Zhishu was already waiting there.

"Old Li's here!"

Jiang Yuan nodded, leading Li Zhishu into the tent. Stepping on the soft "Blue Silver Grass" covering the ground, he reached the inner side, unfastened his battle sword from his waist, placed it on the table, and turned to Li Zhishu, asking, "Tell me, has something else happened on Heaven Dou's side?"

"Hmm." Li Zhishu nodded, his slightly round face showing a hint of indignation, and said with full resentment, "Brother Yuan, Heaven Dou is acting a bit inhumanely!"

"Although it was agreed from the beginning that we foreign troops would provide our own food and supplies, as you know, Brother Yuan, we have brought tens of thousands of people and two or three thousand warhorses this time..."

"The food that people and horses eat, the stuff brought from the duchy, will only last for ten or fifteen days at most. We'll have to buy more from the cities in the rear of Heaven Dou."

"But—!" Li Zhishu paused, then gritted his teeth and said, "I just went to ' Nuoding City ' behind the city to inquire, and all the grain shops in the city, whether official or private, have pre-allocated the grain to the military supply depot. If we want to buy grain, we can only go to the military supply depot!"

"As for the price, it's three times the market price from a week ago!!"

Listening to Li Zhishu's account, Jiang Yuan frowned deeply and sighed, "The Heaven Dou Army these days is even more unscrupulous than it was a decade ago!"

More than a decade ago, Jiang Yuan first came to the front lines of the two great empires with the army. Although there were some unsavory things at that time, they were not as shameless and unscrupulous as they are now.

"Where's Ah Yi?" Jiang Yuan asked Li Zhishu.

He suddenly remembered Ling Yi and wanted to find the smartest person he knew to analyze the situation and give him some advice.

"Ah Yi ~" Li Zhishu shook his head without thinking and said, "He has been in the medical battalion ever since the assembly began in the duchy, and he hasn't come out once—"

Li Zhishu shook his head, and Jiang Yuan couldn't help but shake his head as well, not at Ling Yi, but at certain people within the country.

They all lack any sense of perspective or magnanimity!

Even though no one in the entire Water Wood Duchy thought Ling Yi was an ambitious person, there were always some people who couldn't stand seeing the Blacksmith Association's Water Wood Duchy branch doing too well.

And the core of this new force, which is like the rising sun, is none other than Ling Yi, who is not even Soul Elder yet!

"Never mind~" Jiang Yuan thought of the faces of those people above, and then thought of the ugly behavior of the military on Heaven Dou's side. They were all the same.

Li Zhishu felt a surge of anger rising in his chest, especially after his recent trip to the ' Blue Silver Territory ' and witnessing its idyllic scenery. Comparing this to the despicable faces of the high-ranking officials of the [Water Wood Duchy], he blurted out, "With those insects around, no matter how hard we try, how can the principality ever become better?!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan's expression changed, and he immediately shouted in a low voice, "Silence!"

He then glared at Li Zhishu, mobilized his Soul Power to enhance his five senses, and listened intently to perceive the movements around the tent.

Once he was sure no one was outside, Jiang Yuan glared at Li Zhishu again and lightly scolded, "You're over twenty years old, how come you're still like Long Yin and the others, unable to keep your mouth shut?"

"If word gets out that you said that, at best it's a sign of dissatisfaction with the duchy, and at worst it's undermining morale. You'll either be used as an example by Heaven Dou, or even if you manage to return to the duchy, you won't have an easy time!"

"Oh." Li Zhishu was scolded, but she didn't argue back. She just lowered her head and responded softly.

Seeing this, Jiang Yuan sighed inwardly, and his originally upright back slumped a little.

Sometimes, what you say and what you think are not the same thing.

In a world where power determines everything, no matter how absurd the people above are, the powerless commoners below can only silently endure it.

In comparison, from Jiang Yuan's perspective, the ordinary people below who know nothing are actually happier, since what they are told to know is what the higher-ups want them to know, and it is mostly in line with their own pleasures.

Sometimes it's not so bad to live an ordinary, uneventful life in a daze.

"Brother Yuan— " Li Zhishu's voice rang out again. This time, he had regained control of his emotions and was much calmer. "We don't know how much time we have left. How should we arrange the supplies?"

"Besides the provisions we brought with us, the military budget allocated to us by the duchy isn't enough to keep us spending at three times the price!"

"Not to mention, who knows if prices will go up again tomorrow?!"

Jiang Yuan: "..."

Jiang Yuan opened his mouth but was speechless. Li Zhishu had asked him about a blind spot in his knowledge.

Before leading his troops to the front lines of these two great empires, Jiang Yuan was just a captain in the Cold Wind Grand Camp. He had never managed so many people before, let alone dealt with the intricate and delicate relationships involved.

Even if Song Yao, the commander of the Cold Wind Grand Camp, the "Marquis of Cedar," were here, he wouldn't be able to make any good decisions.

Of course, Song Yao wouldn't have the same troubles as Jiang Yuan and Li Zhishu.

It wasn't because Song Yao was Soul Emperor, Jiang Yuan and the other were Soul King and Soul Elder, but simply because Song Yao, as a commander of an army, plus Soul Emperor and a Marquis, didn't need to worry about food and drink at all. Even on the chaotic front lines, he could still provide plenty of meat and fish for every meal.

Jiang Yuan and Li Zhishu's distress stemmed entirely from the fact that they had placed the weight of over ten thousand comrades on their shoulders, which made them feel immense pressure.

In their view, since they had brought these comrades with them, they should try their best to bring each and every one of them back with them.

This is the responsibility that they, as the commander and the logistics manager, should bear.

More than 300 meters away from Jiang Yuan's camp, in a smaller tent, Ling Yi sat on a stool, looking at the books spread out on the table in front of him.

Suddenly, Ling Yi, whose eyes were vacant and whose attention was not on the book, seemed to have heard something and shook his head.

Reaching out to stroke the swaying blades of "Blue Silver Grass" at his feet, Ling Yi remained calm, his eyes as deep as an ancient pool.

In his past life, he had seen this sentence:

When a country prospers, its people generally prosper as well.

When a country falls into decline and backwardness, its people generally become apathetic and indifferent!

People are not born numb; it is only through life experiences that they are gradually forced to close off their once passionate hearts.

[Water Wood Duchy] This applies to him, Yu Jiang Yuan, Li Zhishu, and others.

The same applies to the duchies and principalities below the [Heaven Dou Empire].

At present, Ling Yi is just a minor Healing System Soul Master, only able to heal people's injuries and illnesses, but unable to save a country or a world.