Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 536 - 500: The Accounts Don’t Add Up!

Chapter 536: Chapter 500: The Accounts Don’t Add Up!

On the way back, since Martial Artists acted as scouts to pave the path, avoiding encounters with Tujue cavalry, the journey was very smooth.

After everyone returned to the Great Sui territory, they followed Shen Buxing and others back to the temporary camp.

Everyone was awaiting their rewards, but after nearly two and a half hours, as it was almost dark, they still hadn’t come.

At this moment, fully armed Zheng Poyue came over and saluted the Martial Artists with a clasped fist.

"Gentlemen, now that the battle has ended, General Shen is busily checking everyone’s contributions. After all, these feats must be reported to the Imperial Court, so it’s important to record who killed how many Tujue warriors, and the strength of those slain, which requires some time. You may return for now and come to collect the rewards tomorrow or the day after," he said.

Everyone had thought they would receive their rewards today and were shocked to hear they had to wait another day or two.

"What about the spoils beyond the rewards? Can’t we at least distribute some of that first?" someone asked.

"Exactly! This battle yielded over thirty thousand cows and sheep!" another exclaimed.

"That’s right! Each of us taking a dozen or so cows and sheep doesn’t seem excessive, does it?" a third added.

"Horses, horses, horses! Lately, horses are worth pure gold!" remarked another.

Zheng Poyue sighed inwardly, knowing he was the one Shen Buxing had sent to make this announcement because that crafty old man didn’t want to offend anyone, so he had Zheng do it instead.

"Gentlemen..." Zheng Poyue saluted all the Martial Artists present once again with a clasped fist.

"Those cows, sheep, and horses are all spoils of war—they belong to the Shuofang Army. I’m afraid... they cannot be shared with you," he explained.

Upon hearing this, the faces of all the Martial Artists present changed.

"What do you mean!?" someone demanded.

"When it’s time to fight, we’re expected to exert ourselves, but when there’s spoils, we’re left out?" another complained.

"If this isn’t clarified, we won’t let this slide today!" a third insisted.

White Cloud, who hadn’t spoken until now, could see that everyone was eagerly anticipating their share of cows and sheep, looking to sell them for money to exchange for Cultivation Resources.

He had even specifically helped many people calculate how to make the most of their cows, sheep, and horses when buying Cultivation Resources.

As such, everyone was immersed in the beautiful fantasy of receiving their share of the spoils.

Nobody expected to be told now that the spoils of war had nothing to do with them.

Zheng Poyue said sternly, "I can understand your feelings, but this decision comes from General Shen Buxing himself. I am merely conveying the message! If you have any dissatisfaction, you should speak to General Shen!"

Seeing the glares from several hundred Martial Artists that looked like they could devour him alive, Zheng knew that if he argued with them here, they might actually tear him into pieces.

Although he was at the Spiritual Platform Realm, there were no shortage of high-level experts at the Spiritual Platform Realm among the crowd.

When clashing with Tujue warriors, Zheng Poyue had noticed that there were at least thirty or forty high-level experts at the Spiritual Platform Realm among these Martial Artists, each stronger than him.

This didn’t include those who hadn’t used their full strength.

So the best course of action was to make a quick exit!

After all, it was Shen Buxing who had asked him to speak, so any issue should be taken up with him.

Having stated his piece, Zheng Poyue turned and left.

Seeing Zheng Poyue attempting to leave, some Martial Artists tried to rush over to stop him, but since Zheng was quick and the camp was surrounded by soldiers of the Shuofang Army, those few who wanted to stop him didn’t dare to create trouble.

For a moment, the whole place fell silent, and all the Martial Artists looked at each other in dismay.

Finally, White Cloud stepped forward and said, "Let’s do this. Many of us gathered here today are highly respected senior cultivators or powerful experts. Let’s select a few representatives to negotiate with General Shen. We’ve had many wounded in this battle and haven’t received Healing Medicine. We fought hard to kill so many Tujue warriors, and if the reward is not immediately forthcoming, that’s one thing, but now we’re told we don’t get a share of the spoils at all... While I must be careful due to my sensitive identity and shouldn’t express my stance, surely, it’s reasonable for us to select a few representatives to discuss the matter with General Shen?"

The crowd found his proposal sensible, and promptly chose a few venerable and powerful Cultivators to go and seek an audience with Shen Buxing.

However, Shen Buxing had already anticipated that the Martial Artists would come to claim a share of the spoils.

After all, those cows, sheep, and horses represented cash!

If he were to tell Mei Fei that he had distributed a third of the cows, sheep, and horses, and then sold another third of the best stock,

he could retire to opulent civilian life without his two sons having to continue to risk their lives following in his footsteps in the military.

Fighting battles every day was all for wealth and glory, wasn’t it?

With wealth now in hand, there was no need to fight anymore.

So, Shen Buxing simply gave orders not to admit any representatives, nor to allow anyone to let the Martial Artists’ representatives in.

As a result, when night had fallen, the representatives returned looking disheartened.

White Cloud, who didn’t feel it appropriate to participate due to his identity, immediately approached them and asked, "How did it go? If not ten cows and sheep per person, surely eight, right?"

Afterward, seeing the expressions on their faces, he murmured, "Only five? Five would still be fine! That’s a considerable sum."

Following these words, White Cloud laughed with the others to spare the representatives any embarrassment.

That’s when an old Taoist sighed deeply, grinding his teeth before saying, "That Shen Buxing didn’t even see us!"