Looking at Oliver Sheng’s dashing figure, truly a poet without equal, clad in a red robe and silver armor, exuding the spirit of a scholar, who could possibly resist him?
Jade Han was completely mesmerized, her eyes seemingly sparkling with little stars, as if she had transformed into an adoring fan.
Not only Jade Han, but even Xiao Chuyi’s gaze towards Oliver Sheng was almost dripping with admiration.
Heroic and scholarly, combined in one person, it was simply intoxicating.
Having witnessed Oliver Sheng’s unparalleled valor in defeating a Martial Saint, and now seeing his poetic talent on display, in her eyes, no one in the world could compare to him.
None of the noble scions or royal princes in the Capital City could match Oliver Sheng.
Although Oliver Sheng didn’t seem to care much for her, it couldn’t stop her from admiring him from the bottom of her heart.
Aside from her grandfather and father, she now held a deep admiration for Oliver Sheng.
Jade Han immediately stood up.
“What are you doing?” Xiao Chuyi asked, seeing Jade Han rise.
“I’m going to perform a dance.”
Xiao Chuyi stared blankly at Jade Han, wondering what this girl was up to.
Jade Han approached and said, “General Sheng, esteemed generals, I, Jade, am not very talented, but I would like to perform a dance for you all. May I?”
Jade Han smiled radiantly, like a beautiful flower, captivating everyone.
“Alright, let’s have Miss Jade dance for us. Everyone, let’s give her a round of applause,” Oliver Sheng said, clapping with a smile.
“Alright!!”
The soldiers cheered, each one excited and thrilled.
If they couldn’t drink fine wine or watch exotic dances, then they would drink Western Wind Blaze and enjoy a Central Plains dance.
Jade Han began to sing, her voice clear and melodious, as if from the heavens. As she moved her sleeves, she danced gracefully, like a startled swan or a wandering dragon.
Under the moonlight, Jade Han’s dance was mesmerizing, like a fairy dancing on a jade platform under the moon, making everyone feel delighted.
With her beautiful appearance, many soldiers were entranced.
“So beautiful!!” Hunter Tang almost drooled.
“Absolutely stunning,” Owen Hai said dreamily.
When the dance ended, everyone slowly came back to their senses.
“Like a startled swan, like a wandering dragon. Everyone, tell me, isn’t Miss Jade’s dance beautiful?” Oliver Sheng asked loudly with a smile.
“Beautiful!!”
The cheers echoed through the night in the barracks.
“Thank you for the compliment, General Sheng,” Jade Han said, her flawless cheeks slightly red.
“Like a startled swan, like a wandering dragon,” was Oliver Sheng’s praise for her?
The soldiers partied all night, drinking freely, each one getting drunk, with the faint sounds of war drums and horse neighs in their ears.
“Drunk on the battlefield, don’t laugh at me; how many have returned from ancient wars?”
In war, those who survive are the lucky ones. At this moment, they were completely relaxed, lying on the ground, sleeping soundly.
Oliver Sheng sat by the fire, not drunk. This wine couldn’t get him drunk anymore.
In this northern expedition against the Barbarians, many of his soldiers had fallen on the grasslands.
Those soldiers would never return.
War always brings death.
Tonight, he would keep watch for his soldiers, letting them have a good night’s sleep.
Divine Mother Zixi watched Oliver Sheng and his soldiers reveling, drinking and making merry. She didn’t understand; was this the meaning of Oliver Sheng’s life?
Such emotions were hard for her to resonate with, perhaps due to her cultivation method, making her particularly cold.
The Dark Moon Palace was cold and solemn. She had lived there for years, seemingly losing certain emotions.
“Oliver Sheng, what do you pursue?” Divine Mother Zixi asked.
In the camp, the fire crackled.
Oliver Sheng looked at Divine Mother Zixi, “Why does Fairy Zixi ask such a question?”
“Seeing you and your soldiers so happy, I was curious.”
“My pursuit is to cultivate to the highest level and see the world,” Oliver Sheng replied.
“Shouldn’t cultivating to the highest level involve secluded and arduous training?” Divine Mother Zixi asked, looking at Oliver Sheng’s handsome face.
“Cultivation isn’t just about secluded and arduous training. Sometimes, blindly pursuing breakthroughs and higher realms can be counterproductive.”
“Fairy Zixi, what is your pursuit?” Oliver Sheng asked in return.
Divine Mother Zixi fell silent. What did she pursue?
She had never thought about it. Since her master brought her to the palace to cultivate, she had been required to constantly train, aiming to reach the Martial Saint Realm.
Seeing Divine Mother Zixi remain silent, Oliver Sheng didn’t continue the conversation. This ice-cold goddess seemed to have little of her own joys and sorrows.
She felt somewhat like a character in a novel who cultivated the path of emotionlessness.
In the following days, Oliver Sheng became busy. He designed the plans for River West County and had Felix Wu build the city according to the plans.
He also had the captured slaves build cattle and sheep pens, planning to create a massive livestock farm.
With so many captives, they had to be put to good use; they couldn’t just sit idle.
Cattle could be slaughtered for meat or sold to inland counties as draft animals.
Sheep wool could be made into clothing and sold throughout Great Wei, all of which were ways to make money.
After all, feeding so many captives required a lot of grain, so they needed to find ways to generate income and bring in more money.
While Oliver Sheng was busy building the River West grasslands, Jade Han’s memorial was delivered to Empress Hazel Han.
When Empress Hazel Han received the memorial and saw its contents, she was stunned.
Oliver Sheng had seemingly broken through to the Martial Saint Realm, led an army north, and dealt a crushing blow to the Barbarians, nearly wiping them out, killing countless enemies and capturing numerous prisoners, advancing all the way to Shelechuan.
He even forced the Barbarians to acknowledge that the Moran grasslands would henceforth belong to Great Wei.
The chaotic wars in Yan that had troubled her were suddenly overshadowed by this good news.
“Good! This is the kind of general Great Wei needs, striking down the Barbarians and expanding our territory,” Empress Hazel Han said joyfully.
Old Eunuch Wei, seeing the Empress suddenly so happy, didn’t know what had brought such joy.
“Eunuch Wei, summon Left Minister Quentin Fu, Minister Wang, and Minister Zuo to Zhenghe Hall to see me.”
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Eunuch Wei obeyed and left Zhenghe Hall.
Looking at the contents of the memorial.
“General Sheng, you have given me a tremendous surprise.”
“The merit of reclaiming River West County hasn’t even been rewarded yet, and now you’ve achieved such great feats,” Hazel Han murmured.
Compared to General Li, Oliver Sheng was the true loyal subject and general of Great Wei.
The Second Prince’s uncle, General Li, was fighting the Huns in the north, deliberately losing ground, holding an army of 200,000 but refusing to join forces with the General Who Guards the North to drive the Huns out of the three provinces.
He even used this as leverage to constantly demand grain and silver from the imperial court.
If she weren’t afraid that General Li would rebel and defect to the Huns, she would have stripped him of his title, imprisoned him, and executed him, exterminating his entire clan.
Soon, Left Minister Quentin Fu, Minister of War Gavin Wang, and Minister of Revenue Jasper Zuo entered the palace and arrived at Zhenghe Hall.
“Your subjects greet Your Majesty!” the ministers said, bowing.
“No need for formalities, my beloved secretaries. Take a look at this,” Hazel Han said, handing Jade’s memorial to the Left Minister.
The ministers read the contents of the memorial, their expressions constantly changing.
Goodness, Oliver Sheng was too fierce. Having just secured the River West grasslands, before the court’s rewards had even arrived, he had already led his troops north, nearly annihilating the Barbarians.
“What a fierce general, truly unstoppable!” Minister of War Gavin Wang couldn’t help but exclaim.
Marching to Shelechuan, no one in Great Wei’s 800-year history had ever achieved such a feat.
This would become a significant chapter in Great Wei’s history.
“This is a blessing for Great Wei. With such a powerful general, we can suppress the surrounding foreign tribes and nations,” Left Minister Quentin Fu said, full of joy.
If Great Wei could have another Martial Saint general, it would be more confident in facing Da Li or Da Chu than it was a hundred years ago.
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