Chapter 1344 – Headless Corpse and the Talismans (Part 2)
“The headless corpse was poisoned to death?” Huang Song lamented, “Ah, this poor fellow.”
Even after countless years, the bones still bore a dark, grim color.
Though the identity of the corpse was unknown, the fate itself seemed quite tragic.
Jiang Pengji glanced at the skeleton.
“This corpse is quite old.”
In any case, it couldn’t belong to this era; judging by the talisman on its hand, it likely belonged to the Da Xia Dynasty.
“How about we dig a hole and bury it? Dying in such a pitiful way, it would be too tragic if the bones were just abandoned in the wild.”
Jiang Pengji nodded, and the guard began to huff and puff as he dug a pit to bury the remains.
Huang Song stared at Jiang Pengji in surprise, hesitantly asking, “What should we do about this talisman…?”
It’s best not to touch things from the dead; who knows what kind of dirty stuff might be on it?
Jiang Pengji replied, “Zixiao has a similar talisman; I’ll let him take a look.”
“Ah, right,” Huang Song said, opting to refrain from further probing.
Looking at the quality of the talisman, it must be quite valuable—not that the owner can come after the living for it.
Consider it a sudden windfall.
By the time they returned to the camp, the sky had grown quite dim. Jiang Pengji shut down her live stream and invited Huang Song to have dinner together.
Huang Song sighed, “Losing to Lan Ting, I respect him even more.”
Jiang Pengji said, “Eating won’t silence your tongue.”
Huang Song shook his head inwardly.
He used to hear that Jiang Pengji’s meals were the same as those of the soldiers, and back then, he found it hard to believe. Now seeing it firsthand, he knew it to be true.
Because of this, he couldn’t help but express his sentiments.
Most of Dongqing’s territory belonged to the north, where wheat farming thrived.
However, before the Da Xia Dynasty, people didn’t know that it could be ground into flour; they mostly steamed it with the husks still on and called it wheat rice.
Later, people discovered that wheat could be milled into flour to make various pastries.
Not only was it more filling, but it also tasted far better than the previous wheat rice.
Despite this, due to immature agricultural techniques, the cost of removing the husk from wheat was quite high, leading to a surge in prices that the common people simply couldn’t afford. The food consumed by the populace was processed roughly, often mixed with sand and small stones.
One could usually tell a person’s background of nobility or poverty merely by examining their teeth.
Clean, aligned teeth indicated fine eating habits and the ability to maintain dental hygiene, suggesting a life of wealth.
Conversely, worn and uneven teeth typically belonged to the poor, who ate food lacking fine processing and containing lots of grit.
For soldiers, military rations before the Sixteen Kingdoms were porridge made from millet or wheat rice; nowadays, it was pastries and rice porridge made from milled wheat.
The steamed buns and pancakes before him looked exceptionally refined, free of grit, and were deliciously soft.
As the lord, it was only natural for Jiang Pengji to have a more delicate meal, but Huang Song noted that even the ordinary soldiers had the same.
What did this signify?
It indicated that under Jiang Pengji’s leadership, the economy was flourishing, with advanced agricultural tools allowing even the common soldier to enjoy fine food.
One could glean the broader picture from a single corner.
Huang Song naturally accepted his defeat with grace.
Little did he know that Jiang Pengji’s modifications and innovations in agricultural tools were nearly on par with those for military weaponry; she allocated substantial funding every year. If Zhang Ping and Shao Guang from the woodworking workshop didn’t produce some decent results, she would certainly have it out with them.
If Jiang Pengji returned to Wanzhou now, she would discover that agricultural tools had been improved once again. Bai Yuexia had received guidance from the Mo family’s elite and showcased exceptional talent. With three tech geniuses collaborating, inspiration struck one wave after another.
After dinner, Huang Song took the initiative to take his leave. Jiang Pengji lit an oil lamp and reviewed documents for three hours.
When she finally set down the last scroll, she heard Wei Ci’s footsteps.
Sure enough, Wei Ci brought her a late-night snack. If it weren’t for her ability to eat without gaining weight, she would eventually become a pig with this kind of treatment.
“Zixiao, take a look at this.” Jiang Pengji retrieved the talisman she had previously found and handed it to Wei Ci while accepting the bowl and chopsticks he offered.
“What is this…?” Wei Ci exclaimed, his eyes widening in shock, instinctively reaching for the spot where his own talisman rested. Master Liu Ru had given him one similar, but how could the lord have one too? “Lord, where did you get this talisman?”
Jiang Pengji recounted the details, and upon hearing that the talisman was picked up near a headless corpse, Wei Ci understood everything.
He said solemnly, “That corpse must have a significant background.”
“What kind of background?” Jiang Pengji asked.
“It’s likely the remains of the former Prime Minister Huang Fu,” Wei Ci hesitated. “I also have one of these talismans. Master Liu Ru gifted it to me through Master Liaochen. According to Master Liu Ru, the talisman belonged to a former Taoist disciple, who was indeed the Prime Minister of the Da Xia Dynasty. There’s a pair of these talismans, one came into Master Liu Ru’s possession, while the other must have been buried with the deceased.”
Talismans are commonly used tools by Taoists during ceremonies and rituals—essentially tools of their trade, meant for summoning deities.
Master Liu Ru gifting Wei Ci one to “suppress evil spirits” made the situation increasingly muddled now that another one had surfaced.
Jiang Pengji asked, “What does that Master want you to do with this thing?”
He could sense a strong righteous aura from it, which was harmless; that’s why Jiang Pengji allowed Wei Ci to carry it close.
Wei Ci shook his head, “I don’t know either.”
“Then how about you keep this talisman too?” Jiang Pengji insisted, forcing the talisman into Wei Ci’s hands.
Wei Ci couldn’t refuse or decline, so he ultimately accepted it.
After all, this talisman was a burial item; Wei Ci wouldn’t carry it around, but instead, he planned to find a tablet for it to offer respect.
Watching Wei Ci’s departing figure, Jiang Pengji’s eyes appeared dark and deep in the flickering candlelight.
The next day, Jiang Pengji received a battle report from Feng Jin.
The messenger arrived on a swift horse, panting, and declared, “My lord, a great victory in Haozhou!”
With a calm expression, Jiang Pengji unfolded the battle report.
Huang Song’s army had already been captured, and the defensive forces in Haozhou were exceedingly weak. Feng Jin had gathered a hundred thousand troops, directing them toward Haozhou, making victory merely a matter of time. Instead of feeling joy, she thought Feng Jin was somewhat slow—three to five days later than she had anticipated.
As she read through the report, a smile crept onto her face.
“If Lord Bo Gao appointed his wife as a general, it might have been a different situation. Though a woman of the inner household, her courage rivals that of a typical husband.”
It turned out that while Feng Jin was on the verge of conquering all of Haozhou, Huang Song’s wife, Qi Chaolan, led her own loyal troops, remnants, and commoners to hold the last city. Knowing that the city would eventually fall due to the massive difference in forces, Qi Chaolan had a team of martyrs commit suicide on the city wall to express their resolve to be shattered like jade rather than remain intact like broken tiles. Seeing this, Feng Jin paused his assault for several days, opting for a siege instead.
Although the martyrs’ suicide ignited the fighting spirit of the entire citizenry, Feng Jin’s siege without attack caused severe food shortages inside the city. He even commanded his soldiers to chant food prices daily outside the walls to shake the guards’ will. After a few days of stalemate, the citizens could no longer withstand the hunger; they banded together and initiated a riot, forcibly breaking open the city gate. Feng Jin then led his troops in a rapid advance, seizing the last territory of Haozhou.
Qi Chaolan was captured.
As Huang Song’s wife, Feng Jin ordered that she be properly housed, awaiting Jiang Pengji’s judgment.
