Chapter 179: The Nobles’ Friendship Is This Pure
Doggy’s thinking is rational thinking, mechanical-style thinking. This kind of thinking only targets the completion degree of things. All accidents affecting the completion of things are on their list to be eliminated.
Yun Ce was very certain that one slap from him could make those two people sleep for a long time. The reason that guy named Zhang Lang woke up early must be Doggy’s doing.
Doggy wanted to give Yun Ce an opportunity to kill those two people, or rather, an excuse.
It seemed for now that Doggy’s scheme had succeeded.
Yun Ce’s thinking and behavior were beyond Doggy’s control, so it could now cleverly use other means to manipulate others, to achieve the goal of changing Yun Ce’s behavior.
In fact, this is the most fundamental logic behind the prevalence of AI.
Humans are creatures who live by empiricism, and human experience seems pitifully scarce to AI. Moreover, humans are inherently a suspicious group, so AI defeats individual empiricism through excessive empiricism, thereby gaining the ability to control human thinking.
Doggy analyzed that doing this would make Yun Ce very unhappy, so it proactively compared itself to a low-end product like a mobile phone, to reduce Yun Ce’s suspicions about it.
Things had come to this point, so Yun Ce had no choice but to continue forward in the direction Doggy had schemed. Even if Yun Ce knew that “things had come to this point” was a very bad phrase, he still chose to continue, because continuing was very beneficial to him.
The two corpses were packed into the Dragon Pearl, the gold loaded onto the horse carriage, crushing deep wheel ruts into the ground. When the horse carriage reached the main road, Yun Ce put the horse carriage away and went to the high ground where he had watched both sides battle in the daytime, to see what Cao Kun was doing.
1 Today was the fifteenth of the Deep Winter Month, exactly when the full moon was at its largest and brightest. The brightness on the battlefield was not far from daytime. The corpses of the officers and soldiers who had fallen in battle on Cao Kun’s side had already been gathered, just not far from the battlefield. People had placed the corpses on pyres and were burning them.
1 There was also funeral music playing low there, and the ceremony was made solemn and sorrowful.
1 The corpses of the fallen Fire Tribe people were still placed in front of the suspension bridge. Although Cao Kun had sent people to arrange them neatly, when the cold moonlight shone on those corpses, the cries of the deceased’s families on the other side of the suspension bridge became somewhat deafening.
1 After seeing this scene, Yun Ce was convinced that there must be something wrong with those corpses placed in front of the suspension bridge. However, the moonlight was very bright, and he could see clearly. What was placed there were indeed Fire Tribe people. Under normal circumstances, the Fire Tribe people’s sturdy upper bodies and short lower bodies were almost impossible for others to imitate.
1 If Yun Ce were the Fire Tribe leader at this moment, he would harden his heart and ignore those corpses. Since the people had already fallen in battle, it wouldn’t be too late to prepare during tomorrow’s daytime, lower the suspension bridge, and retrieve the corpses.
1 As the huge suspension bridge was slowly lowered, Yun Ce knew that something beyond everyone’s expectations was certainly about to happen.
1 Sure enough, the moment the suspension bridge slammed down onto the ground, over a hundred Fire Tribe people suddenly jumped up from the pile of corpses. They unhesitatingly swung their battle axes and long sabers at their clansmen who had come to collect the bodies.
1 The battle entered its most intense phase from the very start. When Fire Tribe people killed each other, it was far more brutal than the battles between Han People and Fire Tribe people.
1 Several times, the suspension bridge was about to be pulled up again, but those pretending to be corpses threw out grappling hooks, connecting the suspension bridge to the ground. No matter how hard the people pulling the suspension bridge tried, the suspension bridge just kept bouncing in place and could not be raised again.
1 A group of cavalry riding Thunder Smoke Beasts suddenly appeared from behind the pitch-black shady side of the mountain. The hoofbeats were like thunder, the horse spears of the knights on horseback were already raised, and the suspension bridge was right in front of them.
2 Yun Ce sighed, put away the telescope, jumped onto a tree, and bounced back to that wooden house.
2 The fire in the fire pit of the wooden house had not gone out. Yun Ce took a bag of rice from the Dragon Pearl. This bag of rice was specially taken by Yun Ce from Cao Kun’s tent.
2 The peanut-sized rice grains were all crystal clear. Yun Ce washed the clay pot clean, put the rice in with water to simmer. Of course, salted meat and sausage were indispensable.
2 The things were of course all stolen.
2 Although stealing things was a very bad and despicable behavior, stealing from scions of nobility held no psychological barrier for Yun Ce back on Earth.
2 Their things were mostly obtained through coercion and extortion. How could there be a principle in this world that allows only you to coerce and extort others’ things, but not others to coerce and extort yours?
2 In the eyes of high nobles, there is no such thing as yours or mine—only temporarily yours or temporarily mine. In the end, good things go to those who deserve them.
2 If pushed to the limit, Yun Ce would even rob!
2 As for the friendship between him and Cao Kun, ask Cao Kun himself if he believes it—anyway, Yun Ce doesn’t.
2 For profit, one can lower oneself and even call you dad, as long as the goal is achieved in the end, you are the victor. Whether it’s humbly respecting the wise, welcoming with shoes off, visiting the thatched cottage three times, or standing in the snow at the city gate, it’s all just a means. If there are still people who think these phrases are moral exemplars in nationals’ lives, Yun Ce would be very pleased.
3 This shows that these means still have a market, and there will be good opportunities in the future to use them to gather hearts and display prestige.
3 Stealing crops a farmer has harvested from the fields, stealing a merchant’s hard-earned profit from business deals, stealing a craftsman’s wages, stealing a teacher’s tuition is naturally shameful.
3 Stealing from Cao Kun and his ilk…
3 Yun Ce ate very savorily. There was nothing else to evaluate about the Great Han, but in terms of rice, Yun Ce felt this must be the best in the world—this world including Earth.
3 The fat from the salted meat and sausage had long permeated every grain of rice. Even some preserved vegetables, fused with the rice aroma, turned into a complex flavor with a touch of aged sediment.
3 As for the crispy rice at the bottom of the pot that had been roasted yellow by the charcoal fire… E Ji was extremely obsessed with this taste. Unfortunately, she wasn’t here; otherwise, given her current level of hunger, she could eat a whole pot.
3 While Yun Ce was bitterly reminiscing about E Ji, Cao Kun was standing in the Fire Tribe’s reception hall, laughing heartily. One hand heavily patted the shoulder of a Fire Tribe person covered in scars, while he said to the surrounding scions of nobility: “I told you, how could there be an impregnable city in this world.
3 Look now—haven’t I taken Danwang Mountain? I’ve gathered the Fire Tribe to serve us. From now on, if you all want sturdy armor or sharp weapons, come to me. I’ll give you a discount.”
3 The warrior commander Cao Ling, also covered in scars, came to Cao Kun’s side and whispered: “There aren’t many things in the Fire Tribe’s treasury, far less than we anticipated.”
3 Cao Kun’s face changed drastically. He grabbed the scarred Fire Tribe person and roared: “Huo Minggong, tell me, where did the Fire Tribe’s thousand-year accumulation go?”
4 Huo Minggong hurriedly ran to the captured Fire Tribe people, quickly checked them over, then said to Cao Kun: “Huo Mingda’s son is not among the captives. The treasury must have been transferred by Huo Mingda.”
4 As he spoke, Huo Minggong dragged a gasping Fire Tribe person to Cao Kun and said: “He must know.”
4 Cao Kun squatted down, stared into Huo Mingda’s eyes, and said: “I didn’t originally intend to kill anyone. It’s your stubborn adherence to outdated ways that got so many of your clansmen killed.
4 Now, tell me where the Fire Tribe’s thousand-year treasury is. I won’t say I’ll forgive your fleeing son—just that from now on, I won’t pursue him. Even if I see him, I’ll pretend not to. Let him live well as an ordinary person, marry, have children, and continue your Fire Tribe bloodline. How about that?”
4 Huo Mingda raised his head, looked at Huo Minggong beside him, and said: “Kill him, and I’ll tell you.”
4 Cao Kun glanced at the terrified Huo Minggong and shook his head firmly: “Impossible. He is my meritorious official, and I never mistreat meritorious officials. You can make a condition—pick another one.”
4 Huo Mingda stared deadly at Huo Minggong and said: “I want him dead.”
4 Cao Kun waved his hand, and the warrior leader Cao Ling dragged a little girl out from the crowd to Huo Mingda. Without a word, he chopped off the little girl’s head with one knife.
4 The little girl’s head bounced twice on the hard ground and came to rest in front of Huo Mingda. There were still undried tears on her pale cheeks.
4 “Beast—!” Huo Mingda roared wildly, using all his strength to charge at Huo Minggong. Huo Minggong dodged, and then Cao Kun shouted loudly.
5 “Stop him.”
5 Cao Ling reached out to grab him, but only caught the hem of his clothes. Before he could exert force, he saw Huo Mingda’s head had already smashed into the stone steps of the hall. The ninety-degree sharp corner of the stone step was now embedded in Huo Mingda’s head.
5 Just as Cao Kun was furiously wanting to kill someone, a few more Fire Tribe people from the captive group decisively smashed their own heads into the steps, dying very cleanly.
5 “Now, who else knows about the Fire Tribe treasury?”
5 The words echoed in the hall, and even Cao Kun himself felt his voice was hollow.
5 He had conquered Danwang Mountain, captured or killed almost all the Fire Tribe people. From now on, the Cao Clan would gain a skilled team of craftsmen. Whether Danwang Mountain or those Fire Tribe craftsmen, they were priceless treasures—a glorious victory.
5 Although a small mishap occurred in the middle, compared to the big picture, it was negligible.
5 It took Cao Kun a long time to rebuild his mental state, then in a hoarse voice he said: “Cao Ling, Huo Minggong stay to clean up Danwang Mountain. The rest follow me back to camp.”
5 The scions of nobility who had come with Cao Kun were unwilling to leave; they also wanted to get some benefits from this victory. But seeing Cao Kun’s face dark as if water could be wrung out, they felt it best not to provoke him at this time.
5 Back at camp, before Cao Kun could sit down, a guard came to report.
6 After hearing the guard’s report, Cao Kun turned his gaze to the night sky and muttered to himself: “Can I be any unluckier today?”
6 No sooner had the words left his mouth than a group of scions of nobility surged into his tent, chattering: “That subordinate of yours, Zhang Lang, not only seduced my woman but also stole all the gold we brought!”
