12dz Chapter 406 There are no eternal brothers, only eternal interests.
Chapter 406 There are no eternal brothers, only eternal interests.
Wang Xiaoman led his men to the city wall and, sure enough, saw the new alliance leader, Jiang Pingzhi, challenging them from below.
He immediately peered down from the city wall and saw that Jiang Pingzhi was as straight as a newly planted poplar sapling and as thin as a willow. He immediately raised his voice and shouted, "Hey, isn't this the new leader?"
I recognized you from afar, and upon closer inspection—it's you, Jiang Pingzhi!
"Wang Xiaoman? What are you doing here?"
Wang Xiaoman sat down on a stone stool by the city wall, rubbing the hair on the mole on her chin with her fingers.
Looking down at Jiang Pingzhi, his eyes held three parts smugness, three parts indifference, and ninety-six parts schadenfreude. "That's what I should be asking you, Alliance Leader Jiang!"
You once said you'd treat your brothers to the best of everything, and that you'd make them follow you!
But now?
Look at them, all of them are poorly dressed and starving, yet they're here shivering and challenging you to "steal their jobs"?
"Leader Jiang, this isn't about living the high life; it's about eating ice and drinking the northwest wind!!"
Jiang Pingzhi's face turned pale and then red from these words, and the veins on his knuckles bulged as he gripped the sword hilt tightly.
But she forced a raised voice, trembling, and said, "Wang Xiaoman, stop trying to sow discord!"
Once we defeat you bunch of rebels, I'll be appointed General Weifeng. Then, brothers, you'll have everything you want!
I advise you to broaden your horizons; our better days are yet to come!
"Tsk tsk!"
Wang Xiaoman shook her head. "I don't know if your good days are yet to come?"
However… if you can endure so much hardship, then you're destined to suffer endlessly!
After saying that, Wang Xiaoman stretched out her hands to the side.
Liu Zi, being very perceptive, handed him a steaming hot roast duck!
Wang Xiaoman carried the roast duck around, its glistening skin coated in golden fat, and the aroma of the meat wafting towards the foot of the city wall.
As the wind blew, the aroma made Jiang Pingzhi, who hadn't eaten meat for months, and the two hundred bandits behind him swallow hard.
It smells amazing, so damn good!
Wang Xiaoman deliberately used a dagger to pry open the fattest piece of duck breast, stuffed it into his mouth, chewed it until his face was glistening with oil, and shouted indistinctly, "Leader Jiang, smell this!"
This roasted duck was made by my employer!
Crispy skin and tender meat, it's so juicy that you'll want to swallow your tongue when you bite into it!
Tell me, doesn't this smell much better than your cold cornbread and iced bread?
As he spoke, he tore off another duck leg and waved it down below: "You said you made your brothers suffer, but you didn't lose out yourself?"
Your armor looks pretty new, so why won't you buy your brothers a hot pancake?
Oh, I forgot, you're Jiang Pingzhi, right? You probably think it's fair to starve everyone equally!
"Yes, as the leader, the alliance leader hasn't shortchanged himself..."
"We're so pitiful, the army can't even afford to issue us a single cotton-padded coat..."
"you do not say!"
A bearded man in the crowd couldn't help but raise his voice.
He rubbed his chilblain-covered hands, looked up, and complained, "Last time the army distributed supplies, I saw with my own eyes that the leader told the leader to ask for armor for himself, but he didn't mention a word about the brothers' winter clothes..."
These words were like a spark thrown into a haystack, immediately causing an uproar.
A tall, thin bandit pulled at his patched-up thin clothes, his voice trembling from the cold: "My mother is still at home waiting for me to bring food back."
Previously, every few months, I could earn enough food to barely fill my stomach.
As a result, I haven't seen a single piece of meat with a speck of oil on it in the past few months, let alone saved up my food rations to bring back home...
"Leader, that new armor of yours, you probably didn't use our military funds to make it, did you?"
Jiang Pingzhi's face turned ashen, and he shouted sternly, "Shut up! It's all Wang Xiaoman's doing, don't be fooled by him!"
"Once we take the city, I'll compensate you double!"
As soon as Jiang Pingzhi finished speaking, he quickly gave a wink to the deputy general beside him.
The lieutenant understood immediately, pulled a cloth bag from his pocket, and shouted in a loud voice: "Brothers, calm down! The leader always remembers everyone's contributions!"
Here's five taels of silver. Let's give it to the brothers in the front row to buy some hot food!
Once the city falls, not only will soldiers' pay be doubled, but each soldier will also be given two bolts of cotton cloth for winter clothing!
As he spoke, the lieutenant scattered silver coins into the crowd. The glittering silver fragments landed on the snow, instantly attracting the attention of many people.
Several bandits, who were too cold to bear it any longer, bent down to pick up the silver. Holding the silver in their hands, the resentment on their faces lessened.
After all, real money is more effective than empty words.
Wang Xiaoman looked down and chuckled, "Tsk tsk, five taels of silver! Jiang Pingzhi, you're really generous!"
He placed the roast duck in his hand into Liu Zi's hand, and started counting down on his fingers, saying, "Let me count for everyone!"
There were more than two hundred people standing below, a dark mass. How much would each person get if the five taels of silver were divided among them?
Oh dear, even if there are two hundred of you, that's only twenty-five coins per person!
This is even worse than the wounded soldiers carrying heavy loads at the docks in our prefectural city; they get thirty-two coins a day, plus a meal!
That sarcastic tone infuriated Jiang Pingzhi!
"Wang Xiaoman, stop talking nonsense!"
Jiang Pingzhi roared and drew his sword, pointing it at the city wall. If he could climb the wall right now, he would love to fly up and chop Wang Xiaoman into eighty-one pieces!
"Oh, getting impatient?"
Wang Xiaoman leaned against the city wall, looking like a "what can you do to me, you loser"!
"Brother Man, Liu Zi just went to the boss's place and got a roast duck!"
The landlord said, "One isn't enough. Everyone has worked hard defending the city, so I've sent over a hundred roast ducks so everyone can share them!"
Upon hearing this, cheers erupted from the city wall, and several of the guards rubbed their hands together and peered down at the city, their eyes brightening.
Wang Xiaoman smiled even more smugly and gestured with her chin towards the crowd below: "Did you hear that? One hundred! Freshly baked!"
My brothers can't even finish one each, but I can still save two for the brothers who come to stay with me!
"Who wants it?"
"I want!"
With a quick and loud shout, a short, stocky man behind Jiang Pingzhi threw down his spear first.
The spear slammed onto the snow with a clang.
The sound pierced Jiang Pingzhi's ears.
The short man, with his neck stiff, ran towards the city gate, shouting, "Damn it, I've been starving for half a month following Alliance Leader Jiang, I've had enough!"
"Brother Man, I've come to rely on you. I can eat half a roast duck—no, I'll even eat a duck's butt!"
Where there is the first, there is the second.
"I'm coming too!"
"Count me in!"
The three of them quickly made their way towards the city gate.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Pingzhi was so enraged that he drew his sword and was about to give chase!
But he was stopped by his two lieutenants, who hadn't moved yet: "Alliance Leader! We can't chase them! If we keep chasing, we won't be able to stop the rest!"
Wang Xiaoman, watching from the city wall, chuckled and reached out to stop the men running towards them, shouting, "Stop!"
Chen Fei, throw away the soft sword at your waist!
Shang Cheng, remove the hidden weapon from your hair too!
"Mo Guibiao, get that dagger out of your crotch!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the three men stopped abruptly, their anxious expressions instantly turning into awkward silence.
Chen Fei touched the soft sword at his waist, looked at Wang Xiaoman smiling on the city wall, and his former brothers, each with a roast duck in their hands.
He slurped his words, swallowed hard, and finally threw the sword on the ground with a clatter. "It's useless to keep it; I can't exactly use it to exchange for food."
If you lose your sword, you can fight again; but if you lose your life, then you truly have nothing left!
The bustling crowds are all driven by profit.
This is something Wang Xiaoman recently learned from her employer, Gao Mengli!
There are no brothers forever, only interests that are forever intertwined!
Wang Xiaoman stroked his chin, and when he saw Chen Fei had lost his sword, the corners of his mouth curved into an even wider smile!