The night sky was cut into a small piece of black cloth by the eaves that were very close to each other.
The stars were really bright today. It was as if a weaver had used gold thread to sew many small flowers onto a black cloth. It was very beautiful.
This was the deepest side hall of the Li Palace, and also the place where Chen Chang Sheng resided.
At this time, he was eating with Gou Hanshi accompanying him.
Qiushan Jun was left to guard Mount Li, and Qi Jian was not permitted to follow Zhexiu north.
Guan Feibai, Liang Banhu, and Bai Cai went to the front lines.
Gou Hanshi was left behind by him.
After a very simple meal was over, An Hua and the priests placed the files that had just been delivered on the table in front of Chen Changsheng and Gou Hanshi.
There was no sound in the side hall, only the sound of flowing water.
It was unknown where the Green Leaf had gone.
After an unknown amount of time, Gou Hanshi raised his head and rubbed his tired face.
An Hua, who was standing at the side, offered him a scalding towel that she had prepared.
Gou Hanshi was slightly startled. After thanking him softly, he took the towel and wiped his face.
Chen Changsheng also finished marking his papers, and An Hua hurriedly walked over.
After a while, he and Gou Hanshi began to converse softly, exchanging their opinions and analyzing these scrolls.
Their opinions would be sent to the Imperial Palace in the shortest time possible for His Majesty to consider.
At the same time, Star Taker Academy would also provide an opinion.
His Majesty would discuss with the Prime Minister and the various ministers to come to a final conclusion.
Everything in the Great Zhou Dynasty revolved around this war.
As for the ordinary affairs of the court and the people's livelihood, they were handed over to Mo Yu.
It had to be said that the Emperor trusted Mo Yu very much.
And from the reactions of the Imperial Court in the last few days, she had not let down this trust and the Tianhai Divine Empress's teachings.
This kind of life had been going on for a few days, but Gou Hanshi still couldn't get used to it.
For instance, why was the towel An Hua handed him so hot? Was her hand not afraid of blisters?
He was a very meticulous person and had long ago noticed that An Hua's hand was truly uninjured.
And why did the Li Palace receive reports from the frontlines even faster than the army?
The Li Palace would often learn of some important news the moment it happened on the front lines.
Gou Hanshi could not understand this.
In comparison, the means of the Devil Race did not surprise him too much.
"The seventh report from the Thirteen Divisions of Radiant Green has been sent back. It is confirmed that the hearts of the demon soldiers are swollen and congested, and are one and a half times larger than normal."
He said to Chen Chang Sheng, "Our calculations were correct. They used drugs to stimulate their power, but at the same time, they destroyed their rationality. They no longer had the instinct to fear death."
Chen Chang Sheng said, "Is there an antidote?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, he shook his head, knowing that he had asked a very stupid question.
Even if the antidote could be found, there was no way to make the hundreds of thousands of low-level demon soldiers willingly eat it.
If his and Gou Hanshi's deductions were correct, the medicine used by the demons actually came from the human race.
Ten thousand years ago, the Longevity Sect had once used many yao servants. It was said that there were some eccentric and extremely talented elders who liked to use these yao servants to research the berserk transformation of the yao race. It was unknown whether or not they managed to discover anything in the end, but they did create a medicine that could stimulate the potential of a living being and forcibly turn them berserk.
The effects of this medicine were extremely fierce. Once used, the heart would explode and the user would die. There were no exceptions, so the Longevity Sect had very quickly sealed it into a forbidden area.
The medicine used by the demons was very similar to the medicine of the Longevity Sect recorded in the Daoist Canon.
When they associated it with the fact that the Longevity Sect was secretly colluding with the demons, the truth was right before their eyes.
Fortunately, the Longevity Sect had declined, and twenty years ago, they had been massacred by Su Li.
"The demons were never as numerous as us. Now, two or three demon soldiers are enough to exchange for one of us."
Chen Chang Sheng said, "This sort of method feels too crazy and unreasonable."
Gou Hanshi replied, "Whether it's reasonable or not depends on the specific situation. Although the low-level demons are very important to the reproduction of the demon race, if too many of them die now, it will affect the future of the demon race in the long run. But right now, their first consideration is to survive. If they can scare us away, even if four-fifths of the low-level demons die, they might still be willing to accept it."
Chen Chang Sheng fell silent.
The situation described in the reports from the frontlines truly was rather thorny. The war had just begun, but the Demon Race had already adopted the stance of a decisive battle. Although there were no experts dispatched, anyone would feel a little frightened at the thought of hundreds of thousands of Demon Race soldiers pouncing on their positions without any regard for their lives.
Before the crazed and suicidal attacks of the demon soldiers, many human soldiers truly had crumbled. On some of the battlefields where the pressure was the greatest, there were even cases of soldiers fleeing in disorder. If Linghai Zhiwang and the Orthodoxy cavalry had not just happened to pass by and killed more than a hundred people, they might not have been able to suppress the demons.
If the demons wanted to use this sort of method to scare the human army away, or at least dampen their morale, then they had to admit that they had succeeded.
Liang Hongzhuang held this view, and so did Gou Hanshi, though he thought a little further than Liang Hongzhuang.
"I don't know if this is the Demon Lord's plan or Black Robe's, but it's obvious that the other side's more important goal is to wear us down."
Gou Hanshi stood up and said, "He wants to wear down our courage, energy, and most importantly, time."
A map condensed from clear light hung in the air.
He used his finger to draw three lines on the map and said, "From the focus of the other side's attacks and the time it takes for them to shift, their goal is very clear. They want to use these three waves of attacks, to use these thirty-thousand-some li of grassland and lives to buy enough time."
The human army was already seventeen days behind the original plan.
If they continued to slow down like this, even if the human army could break through the demon defenses and reach Xuelao City, it would probably be late winter.
That would be an unimaginably perilous situation.
"What should we do?" Chen Changsheng asked.
Gou Hanshi thought for a while, then said, "Just follow the original plan."
Confused, Chen Changsheng asked, "Just act as if nothing happened?"
"In reality, nothing really happened. We all know that the demons will resist at all costs."
Gou Hanshi continued, "On the contrary, in my view, whether this is the Demon Lord's or Black Robe's plan, they both made a grave mistake. There has been no war for many years, and at least half of our armies on the front lines have never stepped onto the battlefield. This time, the demon offensive is very urgent, so it can be used as a test, a tempering, to turn them into true veterans."
Chen Changsheng said, "This sort of test and tempering is very difficult."
Gou Hanshi said, "If we can't even get through this barrier, how can we talk about attacking Xuelao City?"
Chen Changsheng said, "Even if we can get through this barrier, there will be many unexpected losses."
"Yes, many people will die this time. It might be people we know, people we don't think should die so early."
Gou Hanshi looked at him and said, "But everyone will die. We will also go there, and we will also die, so please be calm."
Chen Changsheng walked to the edge of the pool and gazed at the slowly spinning wooden ladle in the water. He thought of that pot of Green Leaf, thought of his martial uncle the Pope holding the Green Leaf and fighting a bitter battle with the Divine Empress ten-some years ago in the ruined southern city. He sternly said, "I don't want to stay in the capital."
"No."
Gou Hanshi did not hesitate.
Chen Changsheng asked, "Since we will go sooner or later, why not go earlier?"
Gou Hanshi replied, "You are the Pope, so you must stay in the capital and calm the people. Only when we can see Xuelao City can you leave."
The moment they could see Xuelao City would be the moment of the final battle.
If Chen Changsheng left the capital at that time, his believers and people would not be worried about the state of the battle. Instead, they would be even more confident in their victory.
This was an arrangement that had already been decided upon, or perhaps it could be said that this was something that had already been discussed before the battle.
When the human army attacked Xuelao City, Chen Changsheng would be present, not the emperor.
The scrolls were carried away by the priests, and the opinions and plans were sent out of the Li Palace as quickly as possible to the Imperial Palace.
Gou Hanshi took the hot towel An Hua handed him, expressed his thanks, and then covered his face with it to slightly relieve his fatigue.
When he opened his eyes, he realized that Chen Changsheng was no longer there.
He suddenly heard the clatter of a sword.
Gou Hanshi went out of the stone room.
Chen Changsheng quietly stood inside.
There was no sword in the stone room.
It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Gou Hanshi sensed the strangeness in his mood and asked, "What happened?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "Liang Hongzhuang is dead."
Gou Hanshi's expression flickered. "Liang Hongzhuang?"
Chen Changsheng replied, "Yes, someone I know."
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