We bear people have power

The Tang Dynasty is brewing a major transformation, the reason being Nie Shuhuan's plan to shift the blame eastward. A portion of the divine punishment inflicted on the Zhou Dynasty has been transferred to the Tang Dynasty.

However, the Tang Dynasty did not have the same confidence as the Zhou Dynasty, and chaos would break out as soon as something unexpected happened.

When Li Shimin fell seriously ill, General Yuchi Jingde, who was leading troops in the field, became a crucial factor. It should be noted that this was no longer an era of regional warlordism; the Tang Dynasty had been unified for a long time, and those famous generals did not usually hold military power.

Currently, the only force legally capable of mobilizing more than ten thousand troops is Yuchi Jingde's army, which is on its way back. No matter how much these princes vying for the throne fight, the one who ultimately sits on the dragon throne will not be able to satisfy this general.

An army of 100,000 could easily bring down this victor again. In that case, all the scheming would have been for nothing but benefiting someone else.

Therefore, as soon as Yuchi Jingde's entourage entered Tang territory, they encountered several groups of envoys. They came from various princely residences, as well as the homes of important civil and military officials.

Although some individuals only shared information that was advantageous to them, by combining the information from so many people, Yuchi Jingde finally managed to sort out what had happened in Chang'an.

"So His Majesty has fallen ill." Yuchi Jingde felt an inopportune sense of relief.

Li Shimin was simply ill, which is why he couldn't reply, not because he suspected Li Shimin.

However, when Yuchi Jingde saw the letters written by the princes in the main tent, he felt a surge of anger. He slammed his fist on the table, and an invisible ripple of vibration shattered the table and the letters on it into pieces.

Looking at the flying scraps of paper and wood, Yuchi Jingde was somewhat surprised. A few days ago, with the help of Helan Chushi, he had mastered the basics of the "Longevity Manual".

It was as if he had been given a new body, becoming strong and energetic again, not at all like an elderly person over fifty. Even his gray hair began to slowly turn black.

Yuchi Jingde threw that punch in a fit of emotion, and he never expected it to be so powerful.

If he could, Yuchi Jingde would love to return to the Tang Dynasty immediately and guard outside Emperor Li Shimin's palace. This was something he had done before, and something he would gladly do again.

However, several old friends in the court advised him against making any rash moves. The Tang Dynasty was in a turbulent period; if Yuchi Jingde returned to court after becoming a disciple, he would either immediately launch a coup and install a prince on the throne, or he would be stripped of his military power and become like the military generals in the court today, trapped like birds in a cage.

As long as Yuchi Jingde remains silent, the princes will not dare to do anything too outrageous or make a move. In this way, they can buy some time.

Once Li Shimin's health improves, this crisis will naturally be resolved. If Li Shimin unfortunately passes away, Yuchi Jingde can seize the opportunity to act; with troops and generals at his disposal, he can certainly ensure the safety of his own people.

Having considered the opinions of his old friends, Yuchi Jingde, a man rather politically insensitive, finally understood. Therefore, after entering Tang territory, he decided to use the opportunity of encountering the wolf demon to make his presence known.

The original plan was to have Helan Chushi fight the wolf demons for a long, drawn-out battle, while the army besieged and killed them for a day or two. Then, they could find an excuse to regroup their troops in place and delay the inevitable for a while.

As for the provisions, unless those princes are out of their minds, they will definitely do their utmost to gather and send them from all over the country. This is an opportunity to curry favor with Yuchi Jingde, and any prince who is willing to try to win him over will not let this opportunity pass.

However, Helan Chushi was too quick, blowing the wolf demon's head off in a single move. This was not Helan Chushi's fault, after all, Yuchi Jingde had not told him the key to it. He just did not expect that this logistics officer, who had only cultivated for a few days longer than him, would be so powerful.

However, it was just a pretext; Yuchi Jingde wasn't without other options.

"Pass down the order to set up camp on the spot. Send out scouts to find all the displaced people and bring them back, then send people to help them rebuild their homes. Anything needed should be obtained from the local county government. If anyone dares to obstruct us in the slightest, grab a knife and rob the warehouse. The people of our Great Tang are suffering, and we, the army of the Great Tang, cannot sit idly by."

This reason is noble and righteous enough that if it were to reach the imperial court, many scholars would likely write several beautiful essays to praise it.

Moreover, Yuchi Jingde is now a general returning with a "great victory," and the reason for his garrisoning is the slogan of "for the country and the people," so this matter was naturally settled.

As for how long it will take to help the people rebuild their homes, that's entirely up to Yuchi Jingde.

Just as Yuchi Jingde was carrying out the work of strengthening the bond between the military and the people, a small team of Jinwu Guards from the Great Zhou Kingdom also began to advance into the territory of the Great Tang Dynasty.

Commander Zhang Yuanshan personally led a team that traveled thousands of miles to Yingchoujian. Then, thousands of people split into smaller groups and scattered to search for that special wild rice plant.

Unfortunately, after searching for a long time, I still didn't find anything.

Wild rice is not like seeds that grow in fertile fields, which can be seen at a glance. Instead, it needs to be found slowly in deep mountains and dense forests, by rivers and streams, and in various other places.

But a mere thousand people are like a handful of sand scattered on the sea in the entire Eagle's Sorrow Gorge. Searching every inch of the land is no easy task.

Zhang Yuanshan and his group only have one year. If they cannot find this wild rice before the spring of next year, they will not be able to use the power of the Fusang Divine Tree to transform other crops, and the Great Zhou will have no harvest for the whole year.

This is a major event concerning the national economy and people's livelihood, and there is no room for the slightest mistake.

"Commander, I don't think this search method will work. This place is just too big," Zuo Lingfeng said to Zhang Yuanshan as he stretched and crawled out of the bushes.

"But this is the only way now." Zhang Yuanshan wiped the sweat from his face and sat down on the ground.

For the past few days, they have been spending most of their time bent over, and even though every member of the Golden Guard has practiced the "Longevity Technique," it is still a bit too much for them.

“We know nothing about this place. Isn’t it too inefficient to just pull weeds every day?” Zuo Lingfeng complained.

"Do you have any good ideas?" Zhang Yuanshan asked.

“I’d like to ask the villagers around here; they’ll definitely know this area better than we do. Besides, if that rice really grows around here, it certainly won’t be just in one place. It’s wild; it won’t just confine itself to a plot of land and grow in clusters,” Zuo Lingfeng said.

"But we have searched the surrounding area, and there seems to be no one around Eagle's Sorrow Gorge."

“Then let’s search further afield, split into two groups, and maybe that will increase our chances of finding it,” Zuo Lingfeng said with a determined expression.

"Alright, you just want to slack off." Zhang Yuanshan bluntly exposed Zuo Lingfeng's thoughts.

This kid must have been hiding in the bushes for too long; he's looking for an excuse to slip away.

But thinking about it carefully, with a thousand people searching aimlessly in Eagle's Sorrow Gorge, losing one wouldn't make much difference. If Zuo Lingfeng were to venture further afield, he might even find something unexpected.

With this in mind, Zhang Yuanshan agreed to Zuo Lingfeng's plan, instructing him to take ten Imperial Guards and head towards the Tang Dynasty territory to see if they could find some locals to inquire about the wild rice.

Upon receiving the order, Zuo Lingfeng was overjoyed and his feet seemed to fly. Within a single day, he led the Imperial Guards hundreds of miles to the vicinity of the town where Yuchi Jingde's army was stationed.