Chapter 557: Planning

Chapter 557: Chapter 557: Planning

The next day, on duty, Shen Hao went to the Library of the Thousand Households Station and found an introduction about "Soul Shadow".

Just as the three Guards sent by the Commander’s Office had previously said, Soul Shadow is indeed an extremely profound Magic. The threshold for practice is not only extremely high, but the difficulty of cultivation is also daunting.

According to the book, the threshold for cultivating Soul Shadow is first that one’s Cultivation must reach the Primordial Pill Realm—only with a "Primordial Pill" can one suppress the physical body and let the soul wander. This is the fundamental of this Skill. Then, the soul strength must also reach a certain threshold in the realm; to put it simply, the soul’s Talent must be high, otherwise, cultivation is impossible.

The final requirement is Intuition. One with ordinary intuition cannot achieve Soul Shadow. In other words, every practitioner who cultivates Soul Shadow is a person of extraordinary insight.

However, the specific method of practice was not available in the Library of the Thousand Households Station, nor was there any relevant description. It only mentioned: To this day, those who know its details are extremely rare.

In addition, the book mentioned some shortcomings, or rather the weaknesses, of Soul Shadow. That is, because Soul Shadow requires drawing one’s own soul as a connecting bridge and primer, once the Soul Shadow is annihilated, the involved portion of the soul cannot return and will dissipate. For the main body, this is an absolute severe injury. If luck is good, it may recover slowly over time; but if luck is bad, it could result in permanent loss of soul, a sharp drop in Cultivation, or even collapse of one’s foundation.

After reading this, Shen Hao finally let out a long sigh of relief in his heart. He was not afraid to face life or death head-on, what he feared was being targeted covertly. Now, with the Soul Shadow of that black-veiled woman destroyed, if what the book said is true, then she is definitely gravely wounded, and she will not be able to seek trouble with him for several months at least. That means, he still has some time to prepare.

Being able to practice Soul Shadow means that the black-veiled woman’s real body Cultivation is at least at the Primordial Pill Realm. For others, a few months would hardly change the situation, but for Shen Hao, that might not be the case.

With a few months, Shen Hao was confident that if he devoted himself and charged forward in cultivation, it would be entirely sufficient for him to break through the bottleneck of the Great Realm of the Primordial Pill. It’s just that he was concerned that if his cultivation progressed too quickly, it might attract unwanted trouble.

After weighing again and again, he still felt that his life and safety mattered most; self-preservation comes first, and as for other restraints, he would find solutions for them separately.

When he left the Library, Shen Hao had already decided on a strategy. He would strive to make a breakthrough in the second half of the year and try to touch the threshold of the Primordial Pill Realm. Thus, the tasks he had on hand needed to be delegated as much as possible. He would only coordinate from the center and set the direction; unless the investigation was a highly exceptional case, he would no longer take personal charge. The time freed up would be used for cultivation. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

Just as he had returned to the Public Office and sat down, Doorman Liu came in to report that Wang Jian requested an audience.

Currently, Wang Jian and Wang Yiming were known by all in the Thousand Households Station as prominent figures; they were the two confidant elites of Shen Hao, Chief Officer of the Black Banner Battalion. Wang Jian was relatively better off, as he was in charge of the Black Water Plan. Although everyone knew he was Shen Hao’s confidant, few understood his true abilities. But with Wang Yiming, it was different. He had participated in several major operations of the Black Banner Battalion and was always present at property raids; as a result, too many people tried to cozy up to him, which left Wang Yiming vexed to the point of fatigue and apprehension.

"Sit. What business do you have?"

Wang Jian politely declined the tea offered by Doorman Liu. He stood up to fetch water himself and refilled Shen Hao’s teacup before finding a chair to sit down on.

"My lord, there are two items of news."

Wang Jian was never one for idle visits. The news had arrived two days ago, but as it was not urgent, he had not disturbed Shen Hao’s rest days and waited until today.

"The Southern Jinghong Carriage and Horse Company has already been reorganized by Liu Hengyi. From all the way along the route—supply posts, docks, town warehouses, to the carriages, personnel, franchises, and various goods channels—everything has basically been straightened out. Our men have already joined the convoy and are currently operating along the Hai Xia to Beach Stone stretch.

My lord, Liu Hengyi truly has connections. It seems he took the route of Zuo Yuliang’s Deputy. Just as he took over, a full thirty percent of the freight between Hai Xia and Beach Stone fell into his hands."

"Thirty percent? That much?" Shen Hao’s hand holding the tea paused. He was rather surprised by Wang Jian’s news.

"Yes, my lord. According to the information delivered personally by Liu Hengyi, he has now signed a contract with the South Military Road Chief Office. Except for General Spirit Stones and finished weapons, thirty percent of the transport capacity for all other materials on the Hai Xia to Beach Stone line will be provided by Hengshun Carriage and Horse Company. But this is limited to the Hai Xia to Beach Stone stretch."

"What about Xiaochuan and Zhuo Huo Pass? Relying solely on the Border Army’s own transport capacity would make rotation difficult, wouldn’t it? And when war breaks out, how could the Supply Battalion leave so much transport force within the border?"

Ever since the southern military edge began to rise, Shen Hao had kept a military manual in the Public Office at all times, reading it whenever possible. Coupled with his occasional conversations with Zhang Qian and Gan Lin about military affairs, he now had a basic general understanding. Thus, he could make sense of basic military matters.

Logically, the deeper inside the territory, the more pressure on supply should rely on civilian transport, while the military’s Supply Battalion should focus its capacity on the frontlines. Given the southern accumulation of supplies is now so immense, and the supply line from Beach Stone to Zhuo Huo Pass is not insignificant, if one were to depend solely on the military’s Supply Battalion for transport, wouldn’t the primary force be wasted? At this point, shouldn’t the Supply Battalion be assembling outside the border?

"That, I’m not sure. However, Liu Hengyi did mention that the situation behind may still be subject to adjustment."

"Have those ’drivers’ under your command pay close attention to troop movements and the direction of the grain supply. Treat this information as top secret. The analysis file is to be managed by your Four Divisions. I require that you promptly establish a comprehensive analytical framework of the situation in the South. Understood?"

"Understood, my lord. I will urge my subordinates to swiftly commence work."

Matters must be advanced ahead of time. At present, nothing in the nation is more tense than the affairs of the Southern Army. The southern situation even affects the entire trajectory of the Imperial City’s policies—be it the civil officials’ and Emperor’s debate on "war or peace," or the Emperor’s "questions and answers" with the Prince—all are closely bound to military affairs.

Since the higher-ups have acquiesced to Shen Hao’s expansion of the Black Water Plan, he now could not overlook intelligence on the southern situation. Still, Shen Hao hadn’t expected the Military Affairs Department in the South to anomalously keep the supply transport force within the border, which in effect delayed the Carriage and Horse Shops’ push southwards. To build a complete analysis of the situation, he would still have to wait—at least until the southern situation became even tenser.

After discussing some further details, Wang Jian finally spoke of the second matter: "The other news is also from Liu Hengyi, regarding the Bai River waters. He inquired and learned that seventy percent of the shipping rights on the Bai River are controlled by a single company named Celestial Wings Carriage and Horse Company."