Chapter 545- Seeking Advice from Jiang Shang
Translator: ryangohsf
Editor: Nora
Shanhai City, Martial Temple.
After a day of rest and recuperation, Ouyang Shuo directly headed to the Martial Temple to revive Wei Zhang.
Luckily, the game did not have the problem of corpses rotting, as two months had passed since Wei Zhang's body was transported to Shanhai City.
After his body reached Shanhai City, it was left in the Martial Temple.
Ouyang Shuo walked in and pressed onto a general soul. Instantly, a system notification sounded out in his ear.
"System Notification: Found a king rank general corpse, meeting resurrection requirements, will you use one king rank general soul and three thousand gold to revive him?"
"Yes!"
Ouyang Shuo did not expect that when reviving a dead general, he would need to spend gold.
"System Notification: Revival has been confirmed, taking place immediately."
With a shua! a blue light drifted out from the general soul jade pendant and entered Wei Zhang's corpse in the middle of the front hall. Then, it disappeared.
At the same time, the jade pendant broke into seven to eight pieces, ceasing to exist.
Ouyang Shuo guessed that the blue light represented the three immortal souls and the seven mortal souls. To use the soul of dead generals to replace other general’s souls, this was probably something that would only happen in the game.
If this happened in reality, Taoists would definitely laugh boisterously.
As the light entered his body, Wei Zhang’s pale complexion improved. After a short while, he woke up.
"Lord!"
To Wei Zhang, it was like he had just woken up from a dream. His memory still remained stuck to the battlefield.
Looking at the environment around him, he felt a little confused. Luckily, he was highly adaptive. As such, when he saw Ouyang Shuo, he reactively greeted.
"General Wei, it has been tough on you. Rest up for a few days in the city before going back to your unit!"
"Yes, my Lord!"
Wei Zhang nodded; he had already calmed down. For the remaining matters, Ouyang Shuo did not need to worry.
After he walked out of the Martial Temple, Ouyang Shuo headed for the Xinan University located in the imperial city.
Although the wilderness had just undergone a round of merciless killing, it remained business as usual in Shanhai City. Even the skies did not have a single red cloud. In fact, it was entirely blue without any clouds.
All of this was naturally due to the blessings of the territory. Additionally, they had the Yellow Emperor Temple, the Mazu Temple, and the other temples, so ordinary evil would not dare to take root here.
As a large number of students had graduated early and were sent to Xunzhou and Zhen An Prefecture, the entire university was much colder. It was not as vibrant and boisterous as usual.
However, the spring season student recruitment for the next year had already started.
During the spring season of next year, each college would recruit three thousand students. Amongst which, eight thousand would be half-year students, while the rest would be here for one year.
Ouyang Shuo came here specifically to pay Jiang Shang a visit. The territory had entered a tough period, and he needed a master to give him advice.
Hence, he thought of Jiang Shang, Jiang Taigong.
In regards to the current territorial situation, probably only Taigong could help him out.
After taking charge of Xinan University, apart from his home on the island, he had another living quarter within the university. This place made it convenient for him to deal with school matters.
It seemed like he had predicted the arrival of Ouyang Shuo, as Taigong was especially waiting for him at his home.
Both of them sat opposite to one another.
"Taigong, what should I do?"
Ouyang Shuo did not introduce the current situation in the territory. Instead, he directly went to the main topic. He believed that although Taigong was in the university, nothing in this world could escape his eyes.
As expected, he smiled and slowly said out one word, "Wait!"
"Wait?"
When Ouyang Shuo heard this advice, he fell into deep thought.
"Taigong wants me to rest and gather up strength and not do anything for now?"
"This boy is worth teaching!" Taigong laughed.
"Is there a time frame?" Ouyang Shuo asked.
Conquering in the wilderness was like traveling against the current. If one did not go forward, they would end up going backward. If one laid in wait for too long, others would definitely catch up. When that time arrived, making a move would no longer be as easy.
Hence, a grasp of timing was incredibly important.
Although Ouyang Shuo had reincarnated, he lacked the ability to grasp the time needed.
"Minimum half a year, maximum a year. There will definitely be changes in the world," Taigong said.
"Half a year to a year; is that the case?"
When Ouyang Shuo heard these words, his eyebrows furrowed tightly.
Since the game had started until now, only two years had passed. Now, Shanhai City needed to lay in wait for more than half a year; this was a tough call for Ouyang Shuo.
Half a year would lead to many different changes.
Ouyang Shuo could not be sure that the base and strength of Shanhai City could allow it to hold on for half a year.
When Taigong saw his reaction, he did not speak and allowed Ouyang Shuo to make his own decision.
"Taigong, please teach me!"
"The territory is facing two tough situations." Seeing his response, Taigong finally helped Ouyang Shuo solve his problems, “Firstly, it has a weak base due to the rapid expansion. Secondly, it has many enemies surrounding it."
Ouyang Shuo nodded; he had clearly recognized these two points already.
As for how to break the situation, he lacked a clear plan.
"One must first calm down the internal situation before dealing with the external situation." Taigong said directly, “For Shanhai City to break out of this situation, it needs to set a firm root. If one's roots are firm, one would not need to fear anything. However, what is the current situation?"
As he spoke up to this point, Taigong's appearance turned more solemn and continued, "The prefectures of Wuzhou, Xunzhou, and Zhen An are tainted by an evil religion, so one has to change the rule and win the sentiments of the people. Although Leizhou and Zhaoqing do not face any huge problems, it still has some small ones, so one can just place development as the priority for the time being."
"Qiongzhou Prefecture seems glamorous and prosperous, but it's too reliant on Yashan City, and the other regions are not developed. For a year, the Lord has been busy fighting and has not paid attention to the territory itself. The people have yearned for the care of the Lord."
When Ouyang Shuo heard these words, he could not help but break out into a sweat.
Originally, after Mulan Yue and Bao Shuya took charge, Ouyang Shuo felt great about the prefectures and thought that they were on the right path.
Who knew that just a few words from Taigong would expose so many problems with the territory.
"There's one more point. Your regime has had some small success, but let's not talk about leaving an heir, even a proper wife has not been decided. The people of your territory have already started to worry." Taigong raised up another problem.
"Song Jia is the wife that I've chosen, so why does Taigong say that it's undecided?" Ouyang Shuo did not understand the problem.
Taigong shook his head, “Since the Lord had chosen, you obviously need to announce the matter to the people. You need to share the good news with them to calm them down."
"You mean there is a need to hold a wedding to confirm her title and status?" Ouyang Shuo asked.
"That's right." Taigong nodded.
"Okay, we will hold the wedding before the end of the year. At that time, we hope that Taigong can chair it," Ouyang Shuo said.
After hearing Taigong’s words, Ouyang Shuo also felt that it was time to grant her a proper title. The two of them had not met in so long. As a result, Ouyang Shuo felt that he had let Song Jia down.
The two had been separated for so long, and they had not met up much. Furthermore, Ouyang Shuo had turned colder and colder, so it was really unfair to Song Jia.
"Sure." Taigong laughed.
"How should I build up the strength of the territory?" Ouyang Shuo asked once more.
"Let nature take its course," Taigong said.
"What do you mean?"
Ouyang Shuo did not understand what he meant. Letting nature take its course did not seem to fit in with the wilderness. However, since Taigong mentioned such a method, he definitely had his reasons and had considered all possibilities.
Taigong laughed, “The one who should do nothing is not others but you alone."
"Taigong, please elaborate," Ouyang Shuo asked.
"Within the territory, be it in politics or the military, there is no lack of talent. The only regret would be that the Lord has directed the development of the entire territory and has restricted them from showing off their talent. That is a huge waste of talent. The territory does not lack a person to lead. The people lack the chance to show off their talents."
When Ouyang Shuo heard this perspective, he was shocked.
Since the village grade, Ouyang Shuo was used to using the experiences of his last life as a blueprint for the territory. Be it the administrative or military structure, Ouyang Shuo made the final decisions alone.
Be it Xiao He, Fan Zhongyan, Wei Yang, or the generals such as Baiqi and Han Xin, they were all the talents of a generation. However, under the charge of Ouyang Shuo, they took up the role of followers. They only followed and executed his orders.
In this aspect, he was not smart.
Hence, when the experiences of his past life were unable to guide him anymore, he was lost.
At the same time, a long period of taking charge and making all the decisions had made him subconsciously not give up power to his officials to let them show their ability.
It seemed that Ouyang Shuo was doing his job, but in truth, he was restricting the ability of his people.
If this carried on, the territory would be under great danger.
Long ago, Ouyang Shuo had worried about such a problem, and he had even sought ways to prevent such a situation. Who knew that now, looking back, he had committed the same mistake.
Everything was just so magical.
At this moment, Taigong had finally woken up Ouyang Shuo.
Ouyang Shuo got up once again. Then, he looked toward Taigong and respectfully bowed.
"How should I break this situation?" Ouyang Shuo asked once more.
"You do not need to do anything, and it would be broken."
Taigong continued, “The enemies are working together because they fear the invasive personality of Shanhai City. It is really unfriendly toward everyone around them and makes them feel threatened. It is like a flock of sheep suddenly meeting a wolf. To avoid being eaten, they naturally have to gather together."
"But the moment the wolf enters hibernation, would the sheep still gather together?"
"No, they won't." Ouyang Shuo's eyes brightened.
Taigong laughed, “That's right. In the wilderness, there really is not a sheep that is totally harmless. Even if they seem harmless, they still need to eat grass. Hence, the moment the wolf goes away, the harmless sheep will turn into ferocious mountain goats and fight one another. At that time, your chance will come. The Honglu Temple set up by the Lord will have a chance to show themselves."
"Thank you for your teachings!"
Ouyang Shuo was truly in awe.