"What's wrong, honey? You came back from drinking looking troubled."
When Meng Sheng returned home, a cheerful-looking woman noticed that her husband was sitting on the observation deck, staring blankly at the night sky. She found it strange; apparently, the gathering that day consisted of his old comrades from the Tian Household, and this old man had been looking forward to drinking with them for a while. Why was he so sullen afterward?
"Did you have an argument with someone?" the woman asked curiously, setting aside the hangover soup.
"If only it were just a verbal argument," Meng Sheng said with a wry smile.
As a military household, and a general at that, my family was naturally entitled to a house in the Stargazing Tower. My favorite thing to do in the past was to heat up a pot of good wine and prepare a couple of side dishes at night, sit on my balcony, watch the lights of Liuzhou, drink some wine, and eat the braised beef made by my wife. It was a wonderful experience.
Life is so good these days, why do some people always have to fight over trivial things?
"What happened?" The woman frowned upon hearing this, sensing that something bad had occurred.
"How have you been these past few years, Madam?"
"Is that even a question?" The woman looked at her husband, her heart filled with doubt, but she still nodded and said, "When you first brought me here from Hecheng, I was still dissatisfied. After all, I had lived there for so many years, and it was right next to the capital. Why did we have to move the whole family? But after we moved here, I didn't complain at all."
"Our Jiangnan boasts beautiful scenery and abundant resources, with novelties appearing one after another. Which noblewoman in the capital doesn't envy our Jiangnan here? Even the wife of an ordinary military household probably lives no worse than the noblewomen of the imperial family. I went back to my parents' home the other day, and oh my, my mother and I couldn't stand the air outside. It was so stuffy and dry, I couldn't even sleep well. Life outside of Jiangnan is truly unbearable."
As she spoke, she kept an eye on her husband's expression. What she feared most was that he would suddenly say, "We might have to leave Jiangnan."
After all, back then, his boss, the head of the Tian family, managed to bring tens of thousands of people to Jiangnan with just a word. That was a smart move, but who knows if the other party might suddenly lose their mind and order another group of families to relocate with them?
Let whoever wants to move can move; she plans to live and die here in Jiangnan.
I'm not a descendant of the imperial family; life is short, only a few decades. Who wouldn't want a peaceful life? In this world, where can you find peace like in Jiangnan?
Her family had written to them repeatedly, asking them to find a way to allow the whole family to move over. The letters were full of complaints about how inhumane life was in the capital, with terrifying black-robed monks everywhere, and children going missing from family to family. Even the areas surrounding the capital were like this; where could anyone live in other cities?
She's now hoping to save up a good dowry for her daughter so she can marry a local military family member, ideally with a house upstairs so they can visit each other often. As for her son, he's still young; she'll send him to an academy to be a teacher so he won't follow the path of a military man. Bloodline doesn't matter; she just wants her family to have a stable life.
A hundred years from now, when I am reincarnated, I hope I can be born into a scholarly family and become a female teacher.
"I see," Meng Sheng, drinking his wine, his mind wandering.
The Meng Household wasn't well-off. He had fought his way out with Tian Heng, and he was the only son in the Meng Household. That's why he wasn't keen on making achievements later on; he just wanted to coast along. The Old Meng family wasn't large; his wife had only given him a son and a daughter. His son was still young, and he, as the old man, needed to earn more money for the family business.
Therefore, he didn't want to get involved in those troublesome things at all.
But even if you don't want trouble, trouble still seems to come looking for you. What can you do?
Trying to get away with it?
Sitting here and not having to worry about anything, but is that feasible?
Meng Sheng knew it was impossible. He was originally from the Tian Household faction. If he did nothing, both sides would target him. If the Tian Household was suppressed, how could he possibly be in a better position?
But if he doesn't get on that pirate ship, will his brothers let him go?
Meng Sheng covered his face, recalling once again his comrades-in-arms in the King of Qin Army. They were brothers who had risked their lives for each other, sharing blows on the battlefield. But those old brothers, when they said they would kill his entire family, did so without the slightest hesitation.
What about myself?
If they don't express their opinion, will they be silenced beforehand?
They can't hide it from me, so how could I possibly hide it from them?
Meng Sheng knew very well that if he didn't make a decision today, he would be facing death tomorrow, and if he died, no matter which side won, his wife and children would probably not be in a good situation.
"Can't you just let me live in peace? This grass tower is so cold."
"Why are you swearing?" the woman said in a low voice. "What's wrong? Don't hide it from me. Whatever decision you make, I need to know in advance, right? Just like back then."
Meng Sheng glanced at his wife in surprise, then shook his head with a smile. He couldn't even hide it from a woman, let alone those shrewd, seasoned soldiers.
Thinking of this, he didn't hide anything and told the whole story directly.
"This..." Madam Meng Sheng's face turned pale. Although she had somewhat expected it, she hadn't expected that group of people would actually dare to do it.
"Why are they so restless? What's wrong with their lives now? His Highness the Prince of King of Qin is a kind and benevolent master; has he ever wronged them in the slightest?"
"Owe them something," Meng Sheng sneered. "Even the King of Qin of Qin back then didn't owe them anything." He paused again, then added, "King of Qin King of Qin again, that's really not a good title."
"What are your plans as the head of the household?"
"I don't know." Meng Sheng covered his head in pain.
Seeing her husband's pained expression, the woman sighed. She offered no criticism or pressure, but gently stroked his back. They were the only two people in their family, and their current livelihood was entirely earned by her husband. Even if they gave it all away, it wouldn't matter. She wouldn't stop him, whichever path he chose.
"If it's Tian Heng who rebels, we'll have to see how many people he can rally!" Xu Hu calmly analyzed, " The Fighter Army is all on the border, and we can't move lightly on the Jiangnan defense line. The imperial army of Ghost General has already reached the border and could launch a surprise attack at any time, so someone has to guard against them. Several deputy generals can't be recalled. The only troops we can move are the soldiers in the North Sea, about 30,000, all of whom are elite, but we shouldn't recall them all. Those demon bastards there are keeping an eye on things, and recalling too many at once might cause trouble."
"How many can be transferred back?" Shen Laosan asked, frowning.
"Ten thousand!" Xu Hu gritted his teeth and said, "No more than that, otherwise the external market will be unstable!"
This made everyone believe Xu Hu even more. Xu Hu's troops were all stationed on the border and could not be easily mobilized. A rash rebellion would not have a high success rate. Jiangnan had the best magic formations. If the border troops rebelled, their families would be in Liuzhou, and they would not be able to break in for the time being. In comparison, Tian Heng's troops were all around and could launch a surprise attack at any time!
"Ten thousand is too few," Shen Laosan shook his head. " Tian Heng's most elite Sea God Army now numbers ten thousand, all of them Above First Rank rank. It would take at least fifty thousand first-rank Fighter Army to control them. And those ten thousand elites are all direct descendants of the Tian Household, so they are most likely completely under his control."
"That's not the key point," Shen Lao'er said sinisterly. " Tian Heng dared to rebel, so there must be external forces at play. To this day, we still don't know what exactly is instigating this rebellion. Relying solely on those ten thousand Fighter Army might not be enough. There's a crucial force we must control!"
"You mean..." Wei Gongcheng instantly realized which faction the other party was referring to.
" West Sea Aquatic Clan?"