I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 506: Chapter 502: Farsightedness

Foresight, in its literal sense, means having far-reaching vision and enlightened understanding.

To be precise, it is an ability to use existing information to judge the past and predict the future, and most exceptional individuals possess this attribute.

Foresight is about making the best choices based on currently known information, and then continuously adjusting strategies during the journey.

This ability is one in ten thousand and typically, those possessing it have a common characteristic. They can predict the outcome and even the entire process of a circumstance right from its beginning. These exceptional people know that their every action is closely related to the future, so they never waste time on social formalities. This tends to make most of them come across as slightly aloof.

It’s not that they were born this way, but as a person who can foresee the future, many of their insights cannot be openly shared. Rather than wasting time explaining every step to ordinary people who cannot foresee the future, they prefer to strengthen themselves.

Tang Luo doesn’t entirely possess the characteristics of an exceptional individual. He was extraordinarily ordinary in his previous life and were it not for his fortunate reincarnation, he wouldn’t have reached his current position. Yet precisely because of his ordinary past, he is more aware of the weaknesses of ordinary people.

Before descending from the sky, Tang Luo sat atop a cloud carried by a cloud-beast, looking down upon the entirety of Red Cloud Mountain Range from the dome of heaven. After undergoing several enhancements, even to the point of developing double pupils, he was able to take in the entire Red Cloud Mountain at a glance.

He realized that to see the big picture, one needs to distance oneself from the world. Surveying his own territory, Tang Luo observed the numerous crowds running back and forth on the three main peaks and dozens of lesser peaks, identifying the cause of this rebellion.

The foremost issue was the number of refugees from Xiling, which had exceeded the initial estimate of 1.6 million.

“Why on earth did I trust the population estimate from an intelligence agency?” questioned Tang Luo. Even the most advanced population statistics in the future era of big data were not entirely accurate, let alone in an era of warriors like Xiling with such a dense population.

Xiling, a massive city-state, had many small villages and townships outside the cities on the north and south banks. They depended on the strong military power of Xiling to live and reproduce peacefully. These people were not counted in the Wind Media Department’s population statistics. Yet, when Tang Luo gave that thunderous roar throughout the city, they heard it loud and clear.

When those people crowded into the Red Cloud Mountain along with the citizens of Xiling, all Tang Luo could see were swarming crowds and countless one or two-digit numbers.

Excluding the two main peaks’ aristocratic alliances, the population gathered on the lesser peaks and the middle peak certainly exceeded the initially projected 1.6 million. This was just a rough estimate, and the actual number might be even larger.

With ten million catties of grain to feed 1.6 million people, if each person got half a catty, that would reach 800,000 catties per day. Asking Sun Jinfang to sustain this for twenty days with ten million catties of grain was simply creating trouble for the old man.

So, the root cause of this rebellion was my own oversight, or rather, my over-reliance on the data from the Wind Media Department.

From the Wind Media Department’s perspective, many civilians are not considered a threat and do not count, despite their numbers being several times that of the nobility.

Spending limited resources on accurately counting the civilian population yields little return. Hence, the Wind Media Department only dispatched some media personnel to get an overview, focusing their primary energies on observing the movements of each noble family – which aligns more with noble interests.

The Wind Media Department wasn’t wrong, Tang Luo was just too rushed. If he had taken a closer look at his territory before departing, perhaps he would have realized that the ten million catties of grain wouldn’t sustain his projected twenty-day plan.

Being the first time managing such a large population, Tang Luo s meticulously crafted plan was filled with missteps in hindsight. If it weren’t for Cui Dayou’s capable handling, Red Cloud Mountain would have descended into chaos long before the twenty-day mark.

He has made mistakes, and there’s no shame in admitting that. What’s truly embarrassing is the actions of these people who wear headbands symbolic of his followers, and his own lack of foresight.

From his vantage point in the heavens, Tang Luo saw some followers, with three or four-digit numbers, quietly leave the crowd after receiving their grain from one relief point and move towards another relief point along the almost vertical mountain streams.

There were relief points in almost all of the dozen lesser peaks of Red Cloud Mountain, apart from the main peak. What appeared as steep cliffs to ordinary people were shortcuts to these practitioners who, like monkeys, used the concave surfaces of the rocks to jump between peaks. In no time at all they arrived at other subsidiary peaks and quietly joined the grain-receiving queues.

Xiling, a commercial city that had known peace for hundreds of years, gave civilians a chance to accumulate wealth. While not everyone could afford to train, those who yearned for it could always find a way to do so.

Since the time Xu Sheng inscribed the thirty-six Innate Dao Maps on the southern monument, it became something common with a set costing just a few gold coins. As long as one was literate and willing to work hard, they could finish the Foundation Building stage, connecting to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, even without guidance.

Maybe half a catty of grain isn’t enough for these practitioners, but to say that they could only survive on relief supplies would be an insult to their intelligence.

They behave as such because it’s less laborious than fishing in a flood, under the assumption that the nobles at the relief points wouldn’t be able to recognize every face merely wanting to get more food.

These people should’ve been among the best in the refugees. Even if they weren’t expected to help other refugees, they could at least find their own food. Even if they charged a little for the grain they got, Tang Luo would understand. But these people were comfortably exploiting the loopholes of the relief system, and some practitioners in the Mortal Realm with four-digit numbers were even collecting grain from multiple lesser peaks.

As a consequence of their actions, some civilians also began to want to collect grain repeatedly. Though they could not cross the mountain peaks, changing clothes and blending into the queue again was not a problem for them.

So, that’s where the ten million catties of grain went!

It’s laughable that these people are still gathering on the main peak platform, righteously questioning an old man who’s already used his own supplies for relief. What a farce!

They lack advanced wisdom but are full of petty cleverness, greed, conformity, laziness, and shortsightedness.

Seeing that the majority of his followers are of this type, Tang Luo feels disgraceful to face the esteemed individuals in the chamber. The only sound on the main peak platform is the constant ‘smack’ of face-slapping, one after another, each landing as if it were on his own face. It’s embarrassing, truly, so embarrassing!