Chen Country earned a lot of money each year just by selling porcelain. Its national treasury was full, but there were still concerns. The country was small and had a small population. In times like this, they would always feel nervous. So every year, they would send tribute to the larger neighboring country, Wu Country, to seek protection.
General Yves was stationed outside Chen Country's border. Before they had even finished setting up camp, he sent out ten squads of two hundred men each. Two of those squads were sent to chase down the people from Chen Country who had gone to report to Wu Country.
The remaining eight squads were sent to investigate all the entry and exit points of Chen Country.
After that, he began discussing strategies with the other commanders.
Chen Country's military power wasn't much of a threat, but if they alerted Wu Country, Wu would definitely get involved.
"This battle must be quick. Although Chen Country is also suffering from a drought, they still have plenty of resources. Over the years, they've become famous for their porcelain and have built a strong economic foundation. If we can take over Chen Country, we might finally have enough strength to go against Wu Country," one of the commanders said.
"But don't forget, even if Wu Country stays out of it, Chen Country still has a secret weapon."
The land of Chen Country was small, but one side of it shared a border with Zhao Country. Zhao had once tried to conquer Chen and make it part of their own rule.
Chen Country refused but instead sent a princess to marry a prince from Zhao. Unfortunately, she died tragically in Zhao Country.
After that, Chen Country turned to Wu Country for support.
Over the years, the new emperor of Zhao had been trying to ease tensions between the two countries.
If Chen Country was really facing a life-or-death crisis, they might rather submit to Zhao Country than allow the lesser-known Zhao Country's army to trample their land.
In the military tent, the commanders and General Yves' advisors split into two sides, arguing non-stop.
Meanwhile, on Sophia's side, the older ladies took five days to clean up the factory completely.
After collecting their payment from Sophia, on the way back, Ronin finally asked, "She rented such a big place. What's she going to use it for? Is she raising pigs or something?"
Before anyone else could speak, Madam Xi shot her son a look. "Kids shouldn't ask too many questions."
Although the four women had quietly discussed it themselves, wondering what Sophia was really up to.
Since Sophia now had the space, the day after cleaning she contacted the fruit and grain wholesaler and ordered 10,000 catties of each type of grain to be delivered to the factory.
The factory she rented had a very high ceiling and two large doors that could let even big trucks drive straight inside.
The owner of the fruit and grain shop personally followed the truck to the site. After unloading, he handed her the delivery sheet. As Sophia signed it, he couldn't help asking, "Miss, you bought so much grain. Are you planning to start a food processing business?"
But the factory looked empty. There were no machines or equipment, only a conveyor belt in one corner.
Sophia smiled and nodded. "Yes. The equipment is all upstairs. The first floor is for storage."
The owner wasn't trying to pry. He just nodded with a vague understanding.
He had never done business like this before. Most of his clients were small retailers.
After payment, the truck left.
Sophia moved the pig trough from her car's trunk and began the hard work.
This time she could work without holding back.
It took two days to move all the grain and vegetables, which totaled tens of thousands of catties.
While feeding them into the machine, she noticed something strange. The pig trough actually got bigger as she increased the speed and quantity of feeding.
But when she stopped, it went back to normal size.
If it hadn't worked that way, there was no way she could've finished everything in just two days by herself.
After she cleared out the storage space, she decided to contact a company to buy a drilling machine.
She had thought about sending water to General Yves' side before, but with her current pace, it was still too slow. There was no way one person could provide enough water for so many people.
Besides, saving them once wasn't enough. A drought was a long-term disaster.
Rather than giving someone fish, it was better to teach them how to fish.
General Yves gathered all the information about Chen's country and was ready to launch the third attack that night when a huge machine suddenly fell from the sky.
The loud noise stunned everyone in the camp. The soldiers guarding General Yves's tent were even hurt a little.
Everyone thought it was an enemy attack and immediately surrounded the machine with weapons ready.
Several commanders quickly ordered the soldiers to spread out and keep safe.
"Commander, do we continue with the original plan?" asked Officer Yang.
The Wu kingdom really sent help. Only six thousand troops came, but it made Yves's attack much harder.
General Yves nodded, "You keep attacking the city. Officer Yang, stay here."
General Ulric took the order and left at once.
Yves had planned to lead the attack himself, but he had a feeling the big machine might become a useful weapon.
In the camp, Yves studied the drilling machine carefully all night with his team, looking at the blueprints.
"Commander, here is another bucket of water," one of Yves's aides said.
There were about seven or eight people with him.
The third attack still failed. Yves wrote a letter to Sophia asking for medicine for the wounded.
Then, the Zhao army camped outside Chen city to rest, staying still for five days.
On the sixth day, noise and cheers came from the camp.
Yves watched as water bubbled up and smiled slightly.
Sending a third of their supplies to the front was useful after all.
Sophia had spent many days gathering all the devices and materials needed for drilling. She asked many people and watched many videos.
She worried that the ancient soldiers wouldn't know how to use the equipment.
She also had many other things to handle, but Yves had sent her a lot of gold, silver, jewels, even furniture like beds and display shelves.
Though it was just a bed, it came with a wardrobe, desk, and other things, taking up a lot of space, almost like a small bedroom. The whole bed was made of purple sandalwood.
This was only part of it. Overall, what Yves sent took up one-third of the third floor.
At first, Sophia thought the place she rented was too big, but now it was just right.
Having so many valuables here was not safe.
She needed to solve this quickly.
So she decided to go to the provincial city to find someone.
Before going, she had to ask the bank to send guards to watch the valuables.
She had seen this before when she was with the Jiang family.
As an important client, she could request a security team for protection, though it cost money.
Sophia skillfully completed the procedure, thinking to finish quickly and return.
She was not fully confident leaving her valuables to the bank, but there was no better choice.
That afternoon, Sophia flew to the provincial city.
Using the address and contact information Amelia had given her, she went into a building called Baode Tower.
She called the private phone number and heard a gentle voice say, "Please wait a moment, I will come down now."