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7.19% Battle Royale of the Sinners / Chapter 40: Stratagems

Chapter 40: Stratagems

Chapter 40 – Stratagems

May 15th.

Tong and his caravans returned to Anping along with the escort troops.

Tong was relief that there wasn't any mishap happening along the way home. He was over-paranoid.

After they had arrived home, Wen Chou requested them to remain in this county until the harvest season.

Tong was baffled. Why would they want to stay here despite knowing that there would be a battle breaking out here?

Then Wen Chou gave Tong a letter. It was a letter written by Feng Ji.

In the letter, Feng Ji described the Intel that they had acquired from the Julu County. Guo Dian currently had 500 light cavalries and 1,000 professional infantry. But there would be 3,500 conscripted militias in September or October.

The letter also described that if Tong and his family lost this battle, they could seek shelter in the Yuan family. The Nan Pi City would always welcome them without any discrimination.

Tong realize Feng Ji's true motives now. They wanted to rope the Zhang family into their ranks.

The soap business definitely caught their eyes, and they wanted to acquire it. But they would not use any unscrupulous practice to take it by force. The Yuan family always welcomed any talent so they wanted Tong to volunteer and join them without being forced.

Therefore, they sent Wen Chou here as an escort. Tong assumed that the group of soldiers that came along with Wen Chou could be the elites of the Yuan family, too.

With these people, they could take Tong and his family and retreated back to Nan Pi once Tong and Zhang Jiao lost the fight.

Once they got there, Tong and Zhang Jiao would have no choice but serving their family as servants. Then the businesses they had would fall into the hands of the Yuan by default.

However, if a miracle happened and Tong won the battle, they would form a good relationship with the Zhang family.

Furthermore, because the Yuan family had helped Tong throughout this trading deal and this upcoming battle, Tong now owed a debt to the Yuan family.

Then in the future, if they required it, they would send someone to ask the Zhang family for a favor and Tong had no choice but to repay this debt.

If Tong refused to pay this debt and the words got out, then the other nobles would mark Zhang family as fraud and would no longer trade with them.

And lastly, Wen Chou troops could also act as scouts to obtain more information about Tong and his troops, his tactics in the next battle, his personality and etc. They would report back to the Yuan family about everything they saw once they returned.

This stratagem by Feng Ji made Tong depressed. Feng Ji was worthy to be called one of the leading advisor. His skills couldn't be underestimated.

Then a question popped up in Tong's mind. If Feng Ji, who was considered subpar when compared to Tian Feng, was this good, then what kind of monstrous brain that top strategists in this era like Jia Xu, Sima Yi, Zhou Yu, Guo Jia or Zhuge Liang would have?

Tong shuddered. Without cheat skills or the 21st-century knowledge, Tong would be nothing comparing to those monsters.

Right now Tong could only nod and accepted his disadvantages position. Once he repelled Guo Dian's troops and occupied Julu County for his own, then it would be different.

Tong returned the letter to Wen Chou and asked him to burn it. He already understood his intention so the letter was no longer needed.

Wen Chou smiled and did what Tong had asked him.

"Then Lord Immortal Zhang. If you have any request in the future, you can ask me."

"So you knew it all along."

"I'm sorry to deceive you. It was the order of the butler."

Tong had a bitter smile. He nodded in acknowledgment and bid farewell to the group of escort.

Wen Chou cupped his hands and said goodbye. They didn't stay in Zhang temporary resident but chose to camp outside.

Tong looked at the back of the leaving Wen Chou. Hundreds of schemes were being simulated in Tong's mind.

The Yuan family played it this way, then Tong would answer with a similar stratagem.

Since they sent one of their best general Wen Chou here to assist him, then Tong would not be humble and would use him to the fullest.

May 16th. Morning.

Tong woke up and sat up on his bed. Hua Shi was also there, clinging to Tong like glue.

Tong was away for a month and a half which caused her withdrawal syndrome to relapse. She was thirsty for Tong's blood or saliva.

Tong was afraid that she might return to be a psychopath zombie again, or she might wander around and killed someone for food. He allowed her to stay in his room for a night, which resulted in Tong getting his saliva sucked dry.

Tong hydrated himself and went out to sort the gold and other stuff from yesterday.

He stored 245,000 gold and all armors and weapons in this inventory to save spaces. As for the 5,000 gold remaining, he gave a portion to the family and bought more ingredients for the next batch of soap. Soap was his ATM right now.

Tong also left the remaining 7,000 gold in his warehouse for the family to use in case of emergency. He had more than enough in his hands.

After Tong arrived at his camp, he could see changes.

The fortress had been built in a shape of double pentagrams. The wall was three meters tall and a giant gate erected there, deep in the corner inside the V-formation of the wall. Any local that caught sight of this fortress would be stuck awed.

The trenches around the fortress were hidden there like a maze. The workers were busy finalizing the layout and maps of the maze trenches.

The soldiers in the camp became more dignified and were worthy to be call soldiers rather than thugs now. They could run and execute orders in a disciplined fashion. No one showed signs of tiredness or exhaustion.

To Tong's surprise, Zhang Liang's soldiers were here too. Zhang Liang had noticed how efficient the training program that Tong's camp was using was, so they were sent here to train with Tong's men.

The repeated crossbows were already distributed to the men. They had been training and practicing using them, so they could fire a volley with ease.

The shields, chest armors, and spears that Tong commissioned the blacksmiths were also completed. Two thousand sets of tower shields and spears were distributed to both camps, and the soldiers were in the middle of training with them.

But everything couldn't be learned in a short amount of times. The phalanx formation still couldn't be executed by the standard that Tong had imagined. A handful of officers also showed signs of slacking and abusing their authorities.

Another readjustment and a purge were required. He was going to get busy again.

Then Tong glanced at the location of Wen Chou temporary camp and grinned. It was a good time to put this famous general to good use.

Wen Chou was Yuan Shao's one of the two strongest generals in the history alongside with Yan Liang. So he should know a thing or two when it came to training soldiers.

That afternoon, Tong visited Wen Chou's camp and asked him if he could administer the training of his troops.

Wen Chou was sent here to obtain information about Tong and Zhang family in the first place, so he accepted. All the elite soldiers in his camp would go and help too.

But once Wen Chou saw Tong's 2,000 soldiers, he was flabbergasted.

'Are you sure that they are ex-bandits and not the imperial troops?'

'The info we have had was wrong. They look more like elites to me.'

Although the troops didn't have experiences and toughness like the real professional imperial soldiers, they could still efficiently execute orders like one. Wen Chou was amazed by the disciplinary of the soldiers.

"Lord Wen Chou, I'd like you to help me train these soldiers about phalanx formation and other infantry formations. Could you help me?"

Wen Chou clicked his tongue in his mind. Tong wanted him to impart his experience for these soldiers. But Wen Chou couldn't complain. He was sent here so Tong would be indebted to the Yuan family, so he had to help.

Seeing Wen Chou agreed, Tong laughed in his heart. Since Tong was indebted to the Yuan family, then why not add another debt on his tabs.

"Oh, by the way. I have a couple hundred horses with me. Could you also teach my officers about cavalry tactics and formations once you've done with the soldiers? I'll be indebted to you."

Wen Chou almost choked blood. This brat was shameless! He was not even a Zhang family servant but Tong still had the balls to order him around. But he swallowed his pride and agreed. It was his job.

Tong almost died laughing in his heart. He no longer cared how many debts he owed to the Yuan family. As long as there was something he could use, then why not using it to the fullest.


CREATORS' THOUGHTS
DamnPlotArmor DamnPlotArmor

This story got on daily update front page for the first time.

As a celebration. Another sneaky release for today.

Chapter 41: Tong’s Ultimate Quest For Beer!

Chapter 41 – Tong's Ultimate Quest For Beer!

June 30th.

Every paddy rice fields were covered in green. Rice crops were wiggled by the winds. Within a few months, the harvest season would arrive.

Today, Tong sent a letter to the Yuan family. He had just mass produced another batch of 10,000 soap bars, so he asked his VIP customer if they wanted to buy more.

Tong expected a replied letter within a couple weeks. The communication of this era was slow but Tong got used to it.

Wen Chou was busy instructing Tong and Zhang Liang's troops. Tong selected a group of elites and formed a 200 men-team of light cavalry with Bo Cai as its captain.

Bo Cai was a talented general in the history, but he died immaturely. During the early period of the Yellow Turban Uprising, Bo Cai led his troops and defeated Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song Army.

Bo Cai was defeated later after Cao Cao and Sun Jian's reinforcement came to aid Huangfu Song and pincered Bo Cai Army. He was killed in the battle.

Tong wanted to see if this talented person could shine if he polished this person. He lacked talented generals right now.

Though Tong wanted to poach or search for more talents, most of the top generals and ministers in the Three Kingdoms Era were either still a baby or already served the imperial forces.

As for Zhou Cang, He was still young and inexperienced at the moment, so Tong had him assisted Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang running the camp. He would shine later once he tasted the bloody battlefields.

There was also an infamous warlord among Tong's troops. His name was Zhang Yan. He didn't have any relationship with the Zhang family, he just had the same surname. But this person would be known as the Black Mountain Bandit King after the Yellow Turbans was destroyed.

Tong couldn't trust the person despite his great leadership skills. Tong was afraid that once he expanded his influence within Tong's army, he would poach his good soldiers that Tong spent so much time training.

Tong would not assign an important role to him for now, unless he was really short on hands.

The 2,000 soldiers of the Zhang family improved day by day. Today, Tong decided to unload the imperial armor sets from the Yuan family in his inventory and replaced the chest armors they were wearing.

After they all put on the full set of armors, the army looked exactly like the imperial troops from the capital. The soldiers were elated to be able to wear the proper armors and formed up a formation. They felt proud to be in the army.

Tong and Wen Chou taught them how to maintain the armor condition and cleaning processes. He didn't want them to get rusty before the war broke out.

At the same time, Tong had the two hundred light cavalries that were newly formed patrolling through the nearby villages to reassure their safety. Public order was important pre-war. He didn't want any riot to pop up out of nowhere.

July 14th.

The letter from the Yuan family arrived. After Tong read the letter, he sulked.

The Yuan family wasn't ready to buy another batch of soap yet because the previous batch was still in stock. They couldn't resell all of it in a short amount of time.

The Yuan family postponed that once they wanted to buy more, they would visit Tong themselves.

This meant that Tong's 10,000 bars of soap would sit in his warehouse for the time being, and he couldn't produce more because there was no more space in the warehouse.

A painful lesson for a greedy businessman for overstocking.

Tong felt down for the rest of the day. He wanted to drink any alcohol, whiskey, brandy or wine as he used to in his previous life, but he was too young for that.

Then he had an inspiration.

The people in this age only knew a few types of wine and homemade alcohol. What if he created a brewery here? What if he created a new drink that this world hadn't tasted before, what about BEER!?

Tong drooled. How long had it been since he tasted the delicious cold beer?

Tong went into his room to meditate, trying to recall the recipe of the homemade beer.

Tong managed to recall a few his old memories about the recipe. But to his dismay, where could he find barley, hops, and yeast in this ancient China.

Tong went to consult with his father if he knew about the barley crops.

Zhang Jiao gave Tong a strange gaze, wondering what his son was up to this time. Then he told Tong that the village they were in grew wheat and the southern land grew rice. Some places also had potatoes or millet. He didn't know if they were what Tong was looking for.

Tong facepalmed himself. Without hops, there would be no beer. He didn't like the beer that was made without hops.

He could at least made yeast with potatoes, and sugar could also be bought in this era. But hop was a kind of herbs. It had to be raised or grew to be harvested.

But Tong didn't give up. If he couldn't make beers, then he would homebrew his whiskey!

Then Tong became despair once again. Whiskey had to be distilled and had more sophisticated processing to brew. He could not just create a 21st-century distillery of out thin air. Then Tong noticed his status menu and the shop system.

Tong facepalmed himself again, which made Zhang Jiao wondering if his son had gone bonkers.

Tong had the PTW Shop cheat! Tong blamed himself for being stupid.

Tong searched for a keyword 'distillery' and 'beer' in the shop, and results appeared. The shop even freaking sold a complete automatic distillery factory with a whopping price of 10,000,000 lifespans.

Tong panted. His eyes became bloodshot. He had another goal in this life other than bickering with other reincarnators and overlords in this world. He wanted his beers and whiskey!

His noble cause would not be stopped with a meager price of ten million lifespans!

But it didn't hurt to check for a cheaper distillery.

And he actually found it! A small magic homemade cooking stall that could brew beers for 10,000 lifespans.

10/10 Plot Armor, will hax again, such logic, much wow.

For the first time in his life, Tong was impressed by the illogical system and its shop.

He hurried back to his warehouse, cleared some spaces and bought the homemade cooking stall with his last shopping pass. Then a cooking stall with a tall cooking pot and a ladle appeared.

Tong frowned. He checked the name of this item again. It said "White Desert Offline, Haxxor Cooking Utensil".

There was also a manual besides the cooking stall. It simply said;

"Put the ingredients into the pot as the following recipes in this manual, and stir the ladle in the pot for 10 seconds. Then the food or beverage you are trying to cook will magically appear out of thin air!"

Tong screamed in his heart.

'WTF is this logic? Will I get side dishes that can be exchanged into contribution EXP too?'

Then Tong searched for the beer recipe. It was just like that game, 5 potatoes, 6 glasses of water, 1 spoon of sugar and 2 spoons of yeasts.

Ten minutes later, Tong managed to gather all the ingredients. The yeasts was a tricky one because Tong had to make it using the cooking stall by throwing a potato into it. Then the yeasts indeed popped out of thin air.

Ten seconds after putting in all ingredient in the pot, a glass of beer appeared! Without hesitation, Tong grabbed it and drank it on the spot.

It was a cold beer! How did it become cold? Tong didn't care and wouldn't care.

Tong cried a manly tear. For over 450,000 years in hell, he missed this taste. He knew that he was in a boy body and he shouldn't drink it, but he couldn't help it.

After he had emptied the glass of beer, the glass disappeared. What a convenient way to dispose of garbage. What a nature-friendly system.

Tong was satisfied and felt as if he was drunk even though he drank only one glass. His passive skill didn't activate this time because Tong knew that he might get drunk. Yet he voluntarily drank all of it.

That night, Tong barged into Hua Shi's room for the first time in his life and asked her to spend a night in her room.

Instead of being happy, Hua Shi retreated as if she saw a ghost. Then she smelled alcohol from Tong's mouth. She walked up to Tong and kissed him to taste it.

After licking his mouth, Hua Shi confirmed that Tong had drunk a beer.

A BEER!

A FREAKING BEER IN THIS ERA!!!

Hua Shi then inquired Tong where he got the beer, which he answered her without hiding anything.

She dashed into the warehouse and remained there for a few minutes. Then she came back with a smiling face. She also reeked of alcohol too.

Unlike the usual where Hua Shi would molest Tong once they were alone together, they chatted and laughed all night. They were drunk and gratified for the beer and the magic cooking stall.

Both of them fell asleep and woke up the next day without being able to recall what happened on that night.


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