Chapter 636: Broken Beyond Belief

In truth, the situation was nowhere near as exaggerated as Niu Youdao made it sound.

These were cargo carts: two wheels with some wooden boards laid across them so they could carry goods. They were entirely different from proper carriages with enclosed bodies.

Carriage wheels did demand a relatively high level of craftsmanship, but a cart for hauling cargo was not the same thing as a carriage carrying people.

The wheels on a passenger carriage had to be made properly and precisely. Otherwise, the passengers would be jolted half to death. A cargo cart was different. No one needed to worry about rough jolting killing anyone. Any apprentice who knew how to make a wheel could build one. It was no great task.

With Nanzhou’s manpower and material resources, and after this much time, producing carts that were little more than two wheels and a platform was no problem at all. The real concern should have been whether there were enough mules and horses to pull them.

But these three Elders, all of them already advanced in years, knew nothing about such matters. Who among people of their station ever paid attention to things like this? Many ordinary commoners might not know either. Some things were difficult to hide from minor clerks working below, while the higher a person stood, the easier he could be fooled.

That was precisely why Xue Xiao had nearly laughed from anger earlier.

In truth, even if the three Elders had understood all of this, there was still little they could do. The problem had already occurred. What else were they supposed to do? With Yan in its present condition, who would dare force Nanzhou into rebellion now?

The three men, despite their age, were actually left half-dazed by his explanation.

Niu Youdao spouted solemn nonsense with a completely straight face, and the three almost believed him.

Almost.

They were not fools, after all, especially when they already knew Nanzhou was deliberately making trouble.

Chong Gu swept a hand through the air. “Enough of this performance. The three of us came for a solution, not to listen to you complain.”

“A solution? Of course we must solve it. How could we not?” Niu Youdao said with utmost seriousness. “We’ll solve it immediately. We’ll gather craftsmen at once and find a way to repair everything as quickly as possible. If there isn’t enough properly seasoned timber available, then tear down the commoners’ houses for wood if necessary. The war at the front takes precedence. Anyone who dares delay it will answer with his head!”

His attitude could hardly have been more resolute.

The three Elders were actually left unable to answer, their stomachs full of anger with nowhere to vent it.

Tian Que of Lingxu Mansion asked in a deep voice, “How long will it take?”

“Someone come!” How could Niu Youdao possibly give him a definite time? He turned and barked an order, summoning Lei Zongkang. “Contact the Prince immediately. Gather craftsmen from all across Nanzhou and have them travel day and night to the official road carrying the grain. They are to repair the grain carts with all possible speed.”

“Yes!” Lei Zongkang accepted the order and left.

Niu Youdao turned back to the three men and tested their reaction. “Three Elders, are you satisfied with this handling? If not, please offer whatever suggestions you have. My side will cooperate fully and carry them out immediately without the slightest delay.”

What suggestions could the three of them possibly offer?

Beyond getting craftsmen there as quickly as possible, what better solution was there?

Everything Niu Youdao said felt wrong somehow, yet they could not catch hold of anything concrete enough to attack.

Kun Ziyue cursed inwardly. There were still far too few cultivators beneath Heaven. Otherwise, how could these troublesome secular people possibly be allowed to run rampant like this?

Then the thought turned in his mind, and he realized something was wrong.

Niu Youdao himself was also one of those cultivators.

Tian Que asked, “So this grain has to remain here until you finish preparing the carts?”

Niu Youdao replied, “At present, that seems to be the only option. The incident truly happened too suddenly. Nanzhou did not have enough time to prepare.”

Tian Que said, “By the time you finish, I’m afraid the war will already be over.”

“How could we allow something so important to be delayed?” Niu Youdao’s expression became solemn. “I do have an idea. I wonder whether the three Elders are willing to hear it.”

Chong Gu snapped, “If you have something to say, say it. If you have a fart to let out, let it out!”

Niu Youdao did not become angry. “There’s no need to wait until all the carts are ready. Why not do this? Use the carts that can still travel to send forward whatever grain they can carry. That way, at least the soldiers at the front won’t go hungry.”

“There is another advantage. With less grain traveling at once, the convoy can move faster, so the war effort will not be delayed by this. What do the three Elders think?”

Chong Gu asked, “And what happens to the remaining grain? It all stays with you?”

Niu Youdao hurriedly waved his hands. “How could that be possible? Yan’s three major sects warned us repeatedly. If I dared deduct any of the grain, they would be the first to refuse to spare me.”

“Three Elders, rest assured. First send enough grain to cover one period of supply. As for the remainder, once my side has prepared the carts, we will escort it onward immediately.”

“Nanzhou will take full responsibility for transporting the rest. If anything happens, Nanzhou will bear the responsibility.”

“The actual circumstances are what they are. So long as Nanzhou completes a clear handover with you and explains the situation clearly to the imperial court, the blame will not fall on the three Elders.”

Once it was put that way, the three men finally calmed down properly.

It was indeed a workable solution.

After the matter had been settled, none of them wished to waste any more time talking to him. They had no leisure for it. They left immediately, arriving in a rush and departing in a rush.

Watching the three men go, Fei Changliu, Sect Leader of Liuxian Sect, moved closer to Niu Youdao. “Master Dao, what happens when the three major sects pressure us afterward?”

Niu Youdao said, “Naturally, we obediently build carts and send the grain. Only this time, we need to raise the standards for manufacturing the transport carts. Even if it takes longer, we must build them properly. We cannot allow the same problem to happen again, or we’ll have no explanation for the three major sects.”

Raise the manufacturing standards for the transport carts?

The three Sect Leaders looked at one another, completely speechless.

They finally understood what he intended.

In the end, he still did not want to hand over the grain already in his grasp.

Build the carts slowly. Who knew when they would be finished?

If the three major sects pressed too hard, then the carts could always break again on the road.

In short, Nanzhou was not going to let that grain leave smoothly.

The three Sect Leaders could see it now. Niu Youdao was certain Yan did not dare force Nanzhou into rebellion at a time like this, and that was why he had no fear.

If that was the case, then so be it.

What concerned the three of them most was not the grain, but Nanzhou’s present situation.

Xia Hua said worriedly, “Master Dao, is it really appropriate for us to hold them back like this? If Yan truly collapses, Nanzhou probably won’t come out of it well either.”

Niu Youdao replied, “I’m doing precisely this to protect everyone. Don’t overthink it. I have my own plans.”

Seeing how confident he was, and remembering his ability in the past, the three relaxed somewhat.

At this point, facing a situation like this, their three sects were completely powerless. All they could do was rely on him. They had already placed the survival or destruction of their three sects in his hands.

...

After the three Wei Elders returned to the grain convoy, they gradually realized the situation was becoming worse and worse.

More and more carts were breaking down.

By the time the convoy finally left Nanzhou’s territory, essentially every cart prepared by Nanzhou had broken.

Only the roughly ten thousand grain carts Xue Xiao had requisitioned from Dingzhou remained sturdy.

The sight left the three Elders cursing continuously throughout the journey. “Dog-thief” became their preferred name for Niu Youdao.

In other words, most of the grain Wei had sent this time remained behind inside Nanzhou’s territory.

The Nanzhou troops escorting the convoy, along with large numbers of Dachan Mountain cultivators, had witnessed the entire process with their own eyes.

Even the Dachan Mountain cultivators felt embarrassed by the endless cart failures.

They had seen carts break before. They had never seen them break on such an outrageous scale.

Only a fool would believe no one was playing tricks.

When the news reached Dachan Mountain itself, Huang Lie told the people below not to involve themselves. Whatever problems arose, Yan’s three major sects would go after Niu Youdao first anyway.

With the situation in such disorder, Niu Youdao had actually started wrestling openly with both the imperial court and the three major sects.

At a time like this, Dachan Mountain wanted nothing more than to hide off to one side and pretend to be deaf and mute. It did not want to provoke anyone.

When the Yan court first received its report, it knew only that around one thousand cartloads of grain had been delayed inside Nanzhou.

Shang Jianxiong seized on even that much to make an issue of it. Carrying the memorial, he went to the Sect Leaders of the three major sects, who were temporarily remaining in the palace, and demanded an explanation.

The three major sects immediately sent a message questioning Niu Youdao.

Niu Youdao simply repeated the same explanation he had used to fob off the three Wei Elders.

That left Yanjing unable to take a hard line, yet equally unable to gain anything through softness. All it could do was urge Niu Youdao to finish the grain carts and send the grain out as quickly as possible.

Naturally, Niu Youdao agreed with a mouth full of promises.

Then Yanjing learned that only around ten thousand cartloads of grain had actually left Nanzhou’s territory.

More than forty thousand cartloads remained behind.

Most of the grain Wei had lent Yan had somehow been swallowed by Nanzhou.

One could imagine Shang Jianxiong’s fury.

“They said there would be no problem with the grain passing through Nanzhou. They said Niu Youdao wouldn’t dare act recklessly and that we could safely let the grain cross Nanzhou. Even I feel ashamed on their behalf...” Shang Jianxiong paced back and forth before his ministers, mocking the three major sects again and again. He was truly furious.

Gao Jiancheng stood below with lowered brows and eyes, muttering inwardly.

That fellow really did dare do it.

And the way he ate was anything but pretty.

What exactly was he planning?

When the news reached Long Xiu, his face darkened as well.

Yi Shu stood nearby, indignant. “Master, I told you already. That villain thinks the world of himself. He never took our three major sects seriously in the first place. He dares behave this lawlessly. Does any part of this look like he respects the three major sects at all?”

“Shut up!” Long Xiu shouted angrily.

The moment Yi Shu remembered how her backside had been pinched before, humiliation and rage surged through her.

Never in her life had she imagined she could suffer such an indignity. That scene had practically become her nightmare.

How was she supposed to marry anyone in the future?

Unwilling to let it go, she asked, “Master, are we really just going to spare him like this?”

Long Xiu snapped, “Then what do you want to do? He has several hundred thousand elite troops in his hands. If we force him into rebellion now, Yan’s situation will fall completely out of control. Who would be happiest then?”

“Wait and see. Hasn’t he already promised to send the grain onward? Appease him for now and see whether he actually sends it.”

“Once this matter is over, just watch how I deal with him!”

This time, Long Xiu was genuinely furious.

For the first time, he had truly developed killing intent toward Niu Youdao.

Yi Shu secretly ground her teeth.

When the time came, she would make sure that villain was cut into a thousand pieces.

...

The two armies faced each other across the river.

Inside the military camp five li from the riverbank, a scholar entered the central command tent carrying a letter.

His name was Wen You, a trusted strategist serving beside Luo Zhao, Grand Commander-in-Chief of Song.

Luo Zhao was studying the map.

After coming to his side and saluting, Wen You reported, “Grand Commander-in-Chief, over in Nanzhou of Yan, most of the military grain Wei lent to Yan has already been held back.”

Luo Zhao slowly turned around, surprised. “That Niu Youdao truly dared do it?”

Beforehand, Niu Youdao had taken the initiative to contact Hui Qingping and Quan Taifeng and ask how much it would be worth if he intercepted Nanzhou’s share of the military grain.

Wen You nodded with a smile. “Our spies in Nanzhou have already sent back word. He really did intercept most of the grain.”

“According to the report, the bastard’s methods were underhanded to the bone. He actually tampered with the grain carts. The convoy went along with carts breaking down the whole way, broken beyond belief.”

“Basically, only the nearly ten thousand grain carts Xue Xiao requisitioned from Dingzhou managed to carry a small portion away.”

Luo Zhao asked, “How have Lingxiao Pavilion and Tiannü Sect reacted?”

Wen You replied, “The two Elders from those sects have already taken plenty of gold notes and gone to reward him. They plan to use the opportunity to persuade Niu Youdao to raise troops.”

[End of Chapter 636]