People shouted the loudest, but deep down, they all knew that sending troops was never going to happen.
Neither the King nor his officials in Zhao really wanted war. The country was already in chaos, with droughts and uprisings everywhere. These rebellions looked small at first, but they spread like wildfire and burned everything in their path.
Besides, the King of Zhao didn't really have much power. The real authority belonged to the noble families, so his opinion didn't matter much.
Luckily for him, the nobles also didn't support going to war.
Their main focus was to stop the uprisings all over the country. Wu's provocations hadn't yet directly affected their interests, but the rebellions were urgent and dangerous.
So Zhao's loud talk about fighting Wu was all for show. It was quickly silenced by the nobles who truly ran the government.
On the Wu side, after their first group sent to pick up the drilling machine was ambushed and wiped out by Zhao soldiers, they sent a second team. But none of them came back either.
They couldn't stay quiet any longer. A full battalion was sent to search. Not far from the Zhao border, they finally found some traces.
It didn't look good. They likely hadn't survived.
Instead of rushing for revenge, the soldiers brought back the bodies of the missing men to report back.
Within ten days, Wu had gathered an army of 100,000 soldiers at the border.
At the same time, General Yves sent a message to Yijan, telling him to return to the military camp.
If a real war broke out, Yijan's safety could no longer be guaranteed.
When the Zhao court received news from the border, chaos broke out. Everyone was furious.
"These shameless people! The Wu army dares to act wild at our doorstep. This is clearly a sign that they want war!"
"Your Majesty, we have no choice but to fight. And we must win."
Zhao was still one of the seven major states, once very powerful. Though Wu had grown stronger over the years and surpassed Zhao, the proud Zhao people still believed they were the greater power. They were arrogant, stubborn, and old-fashioned. Even though they noticed Wu's progress, they didn't think Wu could ever rise above them.
The two countries shared a border. There had been some small arguments in the past, but overall, things were peaceful.
So this sudden act of war felt like a punch to the face.
Some in the court wanted to fight, but others were realistic.
It wasn't just about Zhao's strength. Right now, they were already struggling internally. The droughts, the corruption, the suffering of the people had caused riots all over the land.
Now, before those were even handled, they had to face Wu, a strong military power.
There was no guarantee that other countries wouldn't take advantage of this situation.
Droughts had affected different areas of Zhao in different ways, but they hadn't really harmed the nobles' comfortable lives.
The court kept arguing. The question was simple: fight or not?
If they fought, the King would have to spend money. The treasury was already empty. They'd have to raise taxes on the people.
At that moment, Yijan came out of the top general's residence in Fengyang City. He was dressed like a wealthy scholar-merchant and used the back door.
Yijan had exchanged high-quality rice and flour for rough grain. With just one measure of fine grain, he traded for twelve measures of coarse grain from the general's household.
General Yves' message to recall Yijan had gone unanswered.
Finally, he received a letter from Yijan, but it only asked him to send someone to pick up the food.
Zhao was full of problems, but Yijan easily found weak points in the system. He bribed the city guards and smuggled the food out.
Once General Yves got this news, he immediately sent a team: one general, five captains, and two hundred elite soldiers to go and receive the shipment.
The food and the soldiers sent out had returned, but General Yijan was still nowhere to be seen.
General Yves frowned deeply. Red Officer Yi, the commander of the Red Fox Army and the one who had gone to meet with General Yijan, delivered a message on his behalf:
"Commander, General Yijan received intelligence. Zhao Kingdom is strong on the outside but weak within. If Wu Kingdom defeats Zhao in one swift move, it may not be good for us. It's best for Wu and Zhao to remain locked in a drawn-out battle, wearing each other down."
Given the situation, General Yves agreed with General Yijan's reasoning.
"Send the food supplies back," General Yves ordered.
When Red Officer Yi brought the supplies back and reached the city gates, General Yves personally came out to meet them.
Back at camp, General Yves gathered his officers to discuss their next move.
"Commander, General Yijan is already in Zhao. Wu is even harder to conquer than Zhao. I suggest we send people to infiltrate Wu now, just in case we need it later," one officer said.
Compared to Zhao, Wu was not only harder to attack, but also more difficult to infiltrate. Any operation inside Wu would be extremely challenging.
The group discussed strategies against Wu inside the tent for a long time.
Meanwhile in Hushi, Sophia finally signed an agreement with Litde.
She submitted thirty-four items for Litde's autumn auction collection. Out of those, thirty-two were accepted. The remaining two had been damaged during transport, which was why they were rejected.
At the same time, the local police and shelter still hadn't been able to contact Conan's original owner. So he was officially registered as an abandoned dog.
Sophia spent quite a bit of time and effort, but she finally completed all the paperwork to adopt Conan.
She ended up staying over ten extra days beyond her plan.
There was a lot going on at home, and she couldn't stop thinking about how General Yves was doing back at the pig farm. So she couldn't stay until the autumn auction started.
Before she left, she only told Haiwen and Zinni.
She gave each of them a catalog of the auction items, telling them some of her pieces had made it into the collection. If they liked anything, they could join the bidding.
It was also a way to drum up some business for herself.
After coming to Hushi, Sophia realized her so-called billions didn't mean much here.
In Hushi, every inch of land was worth a fortune. Even ten billion wouldn't buy a single floor of a building.
She knew she needed to hurry back and make more money. That was the only way forward.
Once the plane landed, her desire to go home grew even stronger.
She picked up her luggage and collected Conan. The two of them headed home together.
Reaching an initial agreement with Litde made future collaborations easier. It was like getting certified as an official supplier—she had a pass now.
When Sophia got home, less than a month had passed, but her three-story house had already been built. The water and electricity were installed.
In the courtyard, the little fish pond had been filled just like she had discussed over the phone with Mr. Qi. He had bought over a dozen big, fat goldfish for her. They were now swimming slowly in the pond, their plump bodies twisting through the water.
Sophia held onto Conan's leash, almost losing her grip.
As soon as Conan saw the fish, he tried to leap into the water.
"Conan! Sit!"
Luckily, he still listened to commands.
He sat, tongue hanging out, staring at the pond, then looked up at Sophia.