Chapter 210

Wei Shen sent people to call back his father and grandfather; a crowd gathered around him, watching him reply to the Great King's letter.

Writing too little won't do; it must be similar to the Great King's boastful, empty talk.

Later, it was the Marquis of Wei Ting who said it, and Wei Shen wrote it.

The old master repeated the Great King's parting words, saying the world is in chaos, ordering him to stay in the city after returning to Youzhou and not wander about, and to send the taken‑in refugees and servants to that "Fairy Island," fearing that leaving them in his fief would cause trouble.

Only when Cover Heaven Great Elder raised its paw could Wei Shen stop writing.

They thought Cover Heaven was quite extraordinary, expecting the Great King to receive it in three or five days; who knew that after the Great King finished his lunch and basked in the sun, the creditor returned.

Going there had been a hassle to find, but returning was much faster; as long as one flew east to the edge of the land, a vast sea would drift with this huge ship, and Cover Heaven could spot it at a glance.

Upon receiving Wei Shen's handwritten letter, the Great King was excited about having a convenient, swift messaging channel, yet deeply pained by the costly motive power.

Mid-level Beast Feed Pill, when converted to silver, amounts to a full three thousand taels!

Look at the nonsense they're spouting—didn't they already say all that before leaving?

Look, Zhetian swallowed three thousand taels in one gulp; the King clutched his chest: "I've never seen such a costly messenger!"

Bai Ze gave a half-hearted comfort: "Timeliness is most valuable; if it flies for a month, wouldn't a hundred taels a day not be that expensive? You won't even spare a hundred taels a day to feed Zhetian?"

Zhetian, upon hearing, immediately turned its head to look at the King.

The King was stubborn to the point of almost pounding his chest: "I'd spend it! Of course I would!"

Returning to East Sea Commandery to meet up with the rear troops, those people, upon seeing Bai Ze standing on the deck, finally felt their anxious hearts settle—Bai Ze hadn't gotten lost!

The entourage calmly boarded the precious ship, the only odd one out being Zhou Huang.

This guy's eyes are about to pop out; the King kindly asked: "Your eyeballs are a bit protruding—did you not eat well along the way and lack some nutrition?"

Zhou Huang was dazed the whole way; he had his attendant pinch him. Turns out, the ships sailing the sea now are all these huge vessels! He'd lived this long and only heard the biggest ship was ten meters, but he'd never seen one himself—he'd only heard it from his teacher. Chang Prefecture also has a big river, but the best wooden fishing boats there don't exceed three meters.

The King gladly took over, grabbing the attendant's spot to pinch him.

"How about it? If you don't go out to see the world, what insight can you get from studying behind closed doors at home? You've read yourself stupid!"

Zhou Huang bowed deeply: "Thank you, Your Highness, for bringing me out to see the world!"

The King: … What to do, this is the first time I've seen such a straightforwardly biting fish.

No thanks, no thanks—our Northern Border Academy will certainly not disappoint your expectations.

The precious ship sailed south to East Sea Commandery to meet the slaves bought from the south; the King fortunately got to see with his own eyes the boundary of the Yellow Bohai Sea, where one side was deep blue and the other yellow.

He ran over to ask Chen Cang: "Are there fish in the yellow seawater too?"

Chen Cang immediately ordered a net dragged for him to see; coincidentally, they encountered a large school of silver pomfret.

The Yellow Sea is yellow because the Yellow River brings a lot of silt, so the estuary looks relatively yellow. Here it's also relatively shallow; once you leave this area, it's the same—there's no difference between the fish and those in the Bohai Sea. There are especially many pomfret, flatfish, and oysters.

A net of fish was hoisted onto the deck—all fat and thick silver pomfret. This fish has a single bone; freshly out of the water, even plain steaming is delicious, and with a sprinkle of chili and ginger threads drenched in hot oil, it gives Zhou Huang enough happiness to make him exclaim—turns out seafood is this tasty!

Compared to river fish, it's not fishy at all, and there are no tiny bones—fishing is too happy. Your Highness, why not—

The King waved a hand to stop him: "Don't you. Can you even move the rudder below or do any work on the deck? Go study obediently at the academy; only when you've grown as tall as a fisherman should you come out to fish for me." There are plenty of fishermen, but few literate leeks.

Zhou Huang excited: "Okay, Your Highness, I'll go study first!"

Bai Ze lifted his head to look at the so-called prodigy—nothing special, really; after a few years in the King's hands, he'll surely be tricked into being lame.

The precious ship only lowered its nets when encountering a school of fish; otherwise it hurried along, and after another five days it arrived at East Sea Commandery.

Seeing the masses of slaves lining up to board, Zhou Huang became puzzled again: "This…… Your Highness, how did you buy so many people?"

The King, legs crossed on the second floor, in a good mood, casually replied upon hearing: "Buy them back to farm the land—You Prefecture has everything going for it, except it lacks people."

Zhou Huang thought it over, scratched his head. "No one……"

The King suddenly realized, threw Bai Ze a small glance: "What to do? I misspoke—he won't actually grow a brain, will he?!"

Bai Ze: ……

Fortunately, the prodigy's mental circuits are more convoluted than the King imagined; after a while Zhou Huang actually praised the King for having ambition and being attentive to his subjects. That's the gist—people put it more politely and culturedly, and the King breathed a sigh of relief.

Having taken on the slaves, the precious ship immediately turned and headed full speed north, no longer fishing, straight for Liao East Commandery.

On the day they arrived at Liao East Commandery, the King formally began the side quest.

The five thousand technical workers sent by Mengmeng and the major NPC dispersed at once, then, according to headcount, work uniforms and the day's rations were placed on the shore, and the bait needed to be laid out.

Only after preparations were complete were the over two thousand slaves on the ship allowed to disembark.

The King had the owl cavalry first leave a portion on the island to maintain order; he would later transfer the You Prefecture garrison to replace them.

With arrangements settled, the King himself grabbed a feigned-innocence book and ran to Zhou Huang's room, ostensibly to ask questions, but actually to stabilize Zhou Huang and his attendant.

These people still thought they were docked at some major wharf of a coastal commandery; they usually aren't allowed to go down to the cargo hold, so there was no danger of exposure.

Logically, the Zhou and Wei families belong to the same faction, so the King just casually covered it up; even if discovered, he couldn't do anything about him. He didn't believe anyone would be bored enough to actually go to Liao East Commandery to verify—it would be quite a hassle.

As for the slaves on the deserted island, they went from initial panic to gradually resigning themselves.

Watching the steward busily unloading a pile of rations, seeing that amount they despaired—this quantity definitely wasn't brought for them.

Who would have thought that, being driven onward with uneven steps off the beach onto a flat patch, it would turn out bustling like a market?

The steward shouted for them to line up and register, and then, unexpectedly, began distributing clothes and rations!

Even while holding the rations and clothes in their hands, some people were still dazed.

The major NPC in charge of this worksite wasn't Zhao Zhu Ge; Zhao Zhu Ge was still in You Prefecture city working on housing reform.

The King's newly summoned NPC was called Fan Yu—this guy tall and broad with a face full of flesh; when he stepped forward and bellowed, the crowd fell silent.

I am the island's chief steward, Fan Yu. Before disembarking, I communicated with the Prince You and knew you are his personal slaves. Now the times are chaotic; he bought you from the south to give you a chance at survival. Prince You is benevolent and righteous; the new slaves, His Highness Prince You will issue each a set of clothes, on the island they will build checkpoints, and daily rations will be issued on schedule—this treatment is unique even in the Great Jin, so I hope you cherish it. However, I'll say the unpleasant truth up front: this treatment wants manpower, and there's plenty of it—we don't lack any of you. This is a solitary island in the sea; if anyone disobeys, the ocean behind you will be your final resting place.

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ps: Thanks to 'Mengle' this classmate's 'great god certification'. Seeing this will add more chapters, thank you all for your support and encouragement! (๑´∀`๑)