Wen Zhong and the Yue people who had fully pledged allegiance to Great Shang had lived peacefully together for quite some time. However, King Zhou had kept the surrender of the Five Kings of Baiyue tightly under wraps. Even the ministers at court knew nothing of it, so in the eyes of the world, Great Shang's main force under Grand Tutor Wen remained firmly pinned down in the south by the Yue people.
The Southern Borderlands.
"Grand Tutor, Sishui Pass has fallen, and Minister Lu has been defeated. How much longer must we stay in these remote mountains and forests?"
Zhang Guifang, Fang Xiang, and Fang Bi rushed into the command tent, panting. The south could be considered pacified. Had Wen Zhong not used his prestige to hold them firmly in check, these generals would long since have rushed off to report their achievements.
"Not long, not long." Uncle Wen's beard had grown a little longer. He stroked it gently and put down the newspaper in his hand.
"Grand Tutor, even if we can keep waiting, the soldiers cannot!" Fang Xiang said urgently. "There's no fighting, yet they can't go home. Though the roads through these remote mountains and forests are difficult, making it hard for the various feudal lords to send scouts to gather intelligence, we still have to pretend to fight great battles with the Yue people from time to time. Especially now, with news spreading of Sishui Pass falling and the Western Expedition Army suffering defeat, the soldiers are almost at their limit!"
"Exactly," Fang Bi agreed. "Even if the soldiers can keep enduring it, the Yue people may begin harboring ill will!"
The situation in the south was actually rather poor. Keeping the soldiers in these remote mountains and forests when there was no fighting brought