Last night, as soon as Shen Jue and Feng Chunya received the news, they made the decisive choice to lead their troops back to camp and provide support.
Who could have imagined that they would run into trouble on the way and be delayed for some time? By the time they reached the camp, Chen Chao and the others who had launched the night raid had already been subdued.
This left most of the Zhenbei Army deeply disappointed.
In particular, when they heard that the fire-pit battalion had rendered outstanding service and that everyone in the battalion had been awarded a medal, they were green with envy.
After the north was unified, the army established a rule.
Any soldier who distinguished themselves on the battlefield would receive a medal symbolizing honor.
From the day this rule was established, many soldiers had made earning a medal—the kind they could pass down as a family heirloom for generations—their lifelong goal.
“Sis, could I touch your medal?” A young soldier, his face flushed red, approached the tall, thin soldier who was tending the fire and cooking. His eyes were full of anticipation.
At his words, the tall, thin soldier glanced at him, then pulled the brand-new medal from inside her clothing. Her movements were so practiced that it seemed as though she had done it a thousand times. In truth, she had.
Ever since she received the medal, there had been no end to the people coming to touch it. She was both helpless and proud—proud of her courage. If she had not found the courage to follow General Feng’s example and join the army, she would never have earned this honor.
“Be careful. Don’t get it dirty,” she reminded him as she placed the medal in the young soldier’s hands.
“Don’t worry, Sis. I washed my hands.”
The young soldier held the golden medal with the utmost care, looking at it over and over again. He could not help sighing.
“I wonder if I’ll ever have the chance to earn a medal like this in my lifetime. If I could take one home with me, my ancestors’ graves would be bursting with green smoke.”
“The seven southern provinces haven’t been pacified yet. We have to help the Divine Lady unify the realm so the people of the south can eat their fill, stay warm, and live in peace. There will be plenty of opportunities to distinguish yourself. You’ll definitely earn a medal of your own.”
The tall, thin soldier patted him on the shoulder. Under his lingering, reluctant gaze, she took back the medal.
After the young soldier left, another person came over.
Elsewhere.
Inside the main command tent, Shen Jue, Feng Chunya, Pei Du, and the others were discussing how to settle the people of Wuling.
“I had someone compile the numbers overnight. There are roughly five thousand Wuling residents who have come to seek refuge with the Divine Lady.”
“According to what they’ve told us, there are still many people inside the city who are so starved they can barely crawl. They won’t last much longer.”
Pei Du picked up the register from the table and flipped through it. His brows drew tighter and tighter. “The military provisions we have left aren’t enough to feed the entire city. By the time Fuyan delivers more grain, I’m afraid the people inside will already have starved to death.”
“Perhaps…”
Someone began to speak, but swallowed the rest of their words.
Shen Jue looked at him.
“The Divine Lady has bestowed porridge on us once, but that was only once. We can’t keep relying on the Divine Lady to grant us porridge.”
He rose to his feet and looked outside the tent. “Since there is no road to survival on land, we’ll go out to sea and find one there. On the way here to Wuling Prefecture aboard the Divine Lady’s immortal ship, I observed the waters. There is a stretch of sea not far from here where the fish are plentiful.”
Feng Chunya considered this, then said, “General Shen, how about this? You take people out to sea to fish, while I lead others in reclaiming land and planting crops near the fishing village. As long as we can catch enough fish to hold out for half a month, the greens in the fields will be ready to eat.”
Pei Du’s eyes lit up. “That is indeed a workable plan. The only problem is finding boats for the voyage…”
Just then, a messenger hurried into the tent.
“Generals and Strategist, a villager named Zhu has arrived outside with several Wuling residents. They request an audience.”
Hearing the surname Zhu, Pei Du thought of Zhu Jingzhe. He also recalled the illusion that Zhu Jingzhe and the illusionist named Yao Sanyi had performed. He closed the register in his hands.
“Let them in.”
Before long, Zhu Jingzhe led the Wuling residents who wished to work for the Zhenbei Army in exchange for food into the tent. After explaining their situation to Pei Du and the others, they waited nervously for a response.
Pei Du’s gaze swept across Zhu Jingzhe’s face before moving to the anxious Wuling residents behind him.
Some clutched the ragged hems of their clothes. Others kept their heads lowered, afraid to meet anyone’s eyes. Still others stared at him with hope.
After a moment, he asked, “What can you do?”
A dark-skinned, middle-aged man behind Zhu Jingzhe rushed to answer. “My surname is Chen. Three generations of my family have been blacksmiths. I can repair boat nails and make all kinds of ironware.”
He then pointed at a thin man beside him. “This is Wan the Third. His father was a master boatbuilder in Wuling City, and he studied under him for more than a decade. His skills may not be the finest, but he should be able to build a fishing boat that can go out to sea.”
Wan the Third nodded hurriedly.
“As long as I have the tools and lumber, I can build a usable boat in a month—no, half a month!”
Pei Du, Shen Jue, and Feng Chunya exchanged glances, their hearts lifting with delight.
“If you’re a boatbuilder, I assume your family has an old boat?”
Building one from scratch would certainly take too long. The best solution was to rent old boats from the people of Wuling and the villagers.
Wan the Third said, “We do, we do…”
Zhu Jingzhe immediately understood that Pei Du intended to go out to sea and fish. He hesitated before saying, “Young Master Pei, fishing is how the people of Great Bay Village make a living. But for the past six months, every time we’ve gone out to sea, we’ve come back empty-handed.”
“Can you fish?” Shen Jue looked at Zhu Jingzhe.
Zhu Jingzhe fell silent.
Was that really the point? The point was that there were no fish to catch in the sea at all!
“I can fish, but…”
Shen Jue cut him off. “That’s enough.”
“I want to rent every fishing boat in your village. If any villagers who know how to fish are willing to come out to sea with me, I’ll pay you by the day regardless of whether we catch anything.”
“This general, I can fish too…”
Several Wuling residents timidly stepped forward.
The moment Zhu Jingzhe heard that they would be paid for going out to sea, he stopped caring whether they would catch anything. He hurried back to the village to spread the news, shouting all the way:
“The Zhenbei Army is renting boats to go out to sea! They’re paying wages! Get every usable fishing boat out of your homes!”
Before long, the fishing village’s wharf was bustling with activity.
Several fishing boats of different sizes were pushed into the shallows. Though their hulls were old, their keels were sturdy and their oars were complete.
Dozens of fishermen who had made their living on the sea for years carried fishing nets, harpoons, and fishing lines as they leapt aboard.
Shen Jue selected the three largest boats and assigned fifty Zhenbei Army soldiers with strong swimming skills to travel in them.
“Set sail!” he ordered.
The oars dipped into the water, and the fishing boats slowly left the wharf, heading toward the stretch of sea where Shen Jue remembered the fish to be abundant.
The boats traveled for roughly an hour.
An old fisherman beside Shen Jue frowned and muttered, “General Shen, if we go any farther, we’ll be beyond the coastal waters. The currents are deep and swift there. I’m afraid these small boats won’t be stable enough.”
“Three more miles,” Shen Jue said in a deep voice.
They traveled for another half hour or so.
Suddenly, the old fisherman at the bow widened his eyes. With a trembling hand, he pointed ahead.
“G-General… Look!”
Shen Jue followed his pointing finger and stared into the distance, momentarily stunned.
Not far ahead, the white mist slowly parted like a gauzy curtain, revealing a small island.
The island was not especially large. Wreathed in clouds and mist, it offered only a hazy glimpse of palace pavilions with upturned eaves. Glazed tiles reflected halos of light beneath the sun—an ethereal palace worthy of the heavens.
Everyone aboard the ship was struck speechless.
After a long while, the old fisherman finally said in a trembling voice, “I’ve fished these waters for decades and passed by this island many times, yet I never knew there was a celestial palace upon it…”
