In the days without battles, Oliver Sheng led his subordinates in relentless training. Every morning, they practiced the military martial art, Wild Bull Strength. In the afternoons, they trained in horsemanship, archery, and coordinated cavalry tactics, honing their skills in military formations.
Now that Oliver was a military leader, it was his duty to train his men and enhance their combat capabilities.
Magistrate Chen ensured that Oliver’s troops never lacked food, allowing them to eat well and have the energy to train. He also recruited some soldiers from the county and re-enlisted lightly injured ones, bringing Oliver’s force up to two thousand men.
Additionally, Oliver had Magistrate Chen recruit a thousand county soldiers as reserve troops. Magistrate Chen agreed and enlisted a thousand civilians into the county militia, placing them under Oliver’s training.
After the Barbarian army retreated, there was no further retaliation for half a month.
In mid-October, heavy snow began to fall in River West County. The snowflakes, as large as goose feathers, turned the entire northwest frontier into a white world overnight. The snow was knee-deep, and the temperature plummeted, becoming bitterly cold.
Standing on the city gate tower, Oliver gazed at the snowy landscape. The heavy snow brought true peace to the border town, making it difficult for the Barbarian army to advance south and attack River West County.
The entire Northern Frontier was blanketed in snow. The Huns retreated deep into the grasslands, and Peace Pass also enjoyed tranquility.
Beyond Deny North Pass, the Huns’ three hundred thousand strong army failed to capture Rejection City and diverted to Qi Mountain Fortress, occupying the three states of Yan, Qi, and Deng with a four hundred thousand strong force. In these three states, only one-tenth of the Great Wei common people survived, the rest were either slaughtered or enslaved by the Huns. Those who fled escaped to the inland states, leaving the three states devastated, with recovery impossible within a hundred years.
General Jin Daorong, who commanded the garrison at Qi Mountain Fortress, and the Second Prince were eventually imprisoned and questioned. The Huns’ four hundred thousand strong army clashed with General Li’s two hundred thousand strong force in the three states, with neither side gaining the upper hand. This stalemate restricted one of the Second Prince’s greatest supports to the Northern Frontier.
Meanwhile, other princes in the court could no longer hold back and began attacking the Second Prince. The Great Wei court descended into chaos.
…
Despite the heavy snow, Oliver did not let his subordinates rest. He sent the troops out to clear the snow in the city. After the snow was cleared, he handed over the training to Cameron Guo and Wesley Hu, while he went to drink with Magistrate Chen.
This left Cameron and Wesley in a tough spot. Not only did they have to train the troops in the snowy weather, but they also missed out on the chance to drink. Although they were Postnatal Martial Artists with hot blood, impervious to cold, they still longed for a drink.
Oliver and Magistrate Chen sat around a tea stove, brewing wine.
“Sigh, in this heavy snow, I wonder how many common people will freeze to death,” Magistrate Chen said worriedly.
“Let’s hope they have enough firewood to get through this snow,” Oliver replied, feeling helpless. He couldn’t prevent the common people from freezing to death in this snowy world.
“Is there enough food? We can’t have people starving to death.”
“Apart from a few villages plundered by the Barbarians, the other towns and villages should be fine,” Magistrate Chen said cautiously. His people were well-off, but he couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be any starvation without natural or man-made disasters.
“Has there been any word from the court about sending soldiers to guard River West County?” Oliver couldn’t help but ask. It had been ten days to half a month without any news.
He was part of the Peace Army, not the county militia of River West County. Guarding a county town indefinitely was not his duty.
Magistrate Chen looked at Oliver and thought to himself that this guy was planning to leave. He quickly said, “Let’s wait a bit longer; the court hasn’t responded yet.”
Oliver didn’t understand the Great Wei court’s internal struggles. The princes were fiercely fighting for the throne, leaving no one to care about the appointment of a colonel in a small border county. Even the fall of the three states of Yan, Qi, and Deng to the Huns only prompted the court to send General Li with two hundred thousand troops to resist.
As a county magistrate, Chen had some understanding of the court’s affairs and knew these issues wouldn’t be resolved quickly.
The two continued to brew wine around the tea stove. Magistrate Chen was a clean and upright official, without even a couple of dancing girls or many maidservants. They brewed the wine themselves.
“Brother Chen, are you from Yingchuan?” Oliver asked curiously.
The Chen family of Yingchuan was a prominent clan, with its members spread throughout Great Wei.
“I’m from a branch that split off long ago,” Finn Chen replied. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been assigned to this remote border county as a magistrate despite being a jinshi graduate.
Oliver nodded. Clans were powerful forces, and since Magistrate Chen was from the Yingchuan Chen family, he likely wouldn’t stay in this border county forever.
Oliver had hoped to use Magistrate Chen’s connections to obtain some pills for his subordinates’ cultivation, but since he was from a branch family, Oliver gave up on the idea.
Martial cultivation consumed a lot of resources. Without exceptional talent or ample resources, one could only progress slowly through hard work.
Oliver had wanted to get some pills to enhance his subordinates’ strength, but now he had to find another way.
“Why do you ask, General Sheng?” Magistrate Chen asked, not believing Oliver would ask without a reason.
“I wanted to get some pills for my subordinates’ cultivation,” Oliver admitted.
Magistrate Chen shook his head. “It’s difficult. Pills are rarely available for sale outside the black market.”
“Pills are monopolized by the court, aristocratic families, and sects. Very few reach the common people.”
“General Sheng, you might not know, but only the Taoist sects can refine pills. Many forces are eyeing the pills released by the Taoist sects, making it nearly impossible to find a channel to buy them.”
Hearing this, Oliver realized how hard it was to obtain pills. No wonder Cameron and Wesley were so excited about the Fourth Rank Realm-Breaking Pill.
“Which sect is the best at pill refining?” Oliver asked.
Seeing that Oliver was still hopeful, Magistrate Chen said, “The best pill refining sect is the Pill Sect of Burning Spirit Mountain. Eighty percent of the pills in Great Wei come from them.”
“Pill Sect?”
Oliver committed the name to memory. The more he learned about this world, the deeper it seemed.
Great Wei was not the only power in this world. There were also the Da Li and Da Xuan dynasties, occupying territories no smaller than Great Wei.
Moreover, there were numerous Taoist sects and demonic sects.
Martial arts were just one cultivation system.
Oliver enjoyed drinking with Magistrate Chen because he could learn more about this world from him.
Since the connection to buy pills through Magistrate Chen was cut off, Oliver had to find another way.
In the evening, the most lively place in River West County was Misty Willow House. At night, wealthy young masters and noblemen would gather there to drink and enjoy the company of courtesans.
Misty Willow House was bustling at night.
That evening, Magistrate Chen invited Oliver to drink and enjoy the company of courtesans. Unable to refuse, Oliver accompanied him.
It was his first time at Misty Willow House in River West County.
The two did not hide their identities and walked openly into Misty Willow House. In this world, visiting brothels and drinking with courtesans was normal, with no need for secrecy.
“Oh, Magistrate Chen, such a rare and distinguished guest!” The brothel keeper’s eyes lit up upon seeing Magistrate Chen.
“And this handsome young man, who might he be?”
Oliver was dressed in civilian clothes, so the brothel keeper didn’t recognize him.
“This is General Sheng,” Magistrate Chen introduced.
“General Sheng? That General Sheng…”
“General Sheng! Such an honor to have you here at Misty Willow House. Please, come in, come in,” the brothel keeper said warmly, personally escorting them to a VIP room on the second floor.
She then hurried to call the top courtesan to entertain Magistrate Chen and Oliver.
“Miss Qin, Miss Qin, hurry! Magistrate Chen and General Sheng are here. Come with me to entertain our distinguished guests.”
“General Sheng?!”
A cold yet charming voice came from the pavilion.
General Sheng, Oliver Sheng, had led his troops to repel the Barbarian army and saved River West County. While many in the county hadn’t seen him, everyone had heard of his name.
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