Chapter 250: Triumphant Return

Yu Family Village in Peace and Health County.

Madam Yu was cooking lunch at home when she saw her maternal nephew rush in on his family's old horse. Her sister-in-law in the courtyard saw this and shouted, "You wicked thing, there's a wolf chasing you behind! You scared me! Is it only your family that has a horse?!"

"Aunt! Aunt, come out quickly! The Northern Expedition was a great victory, the Great King has returned!"

Madam Yu stared for a moment before realizing, this time it wasn't an illusion.

"Da Hai, is this really true?!" She ran out into the courtyard, her legs all soft, taking deep and shallow steps.

"Of course it's true, I heard it myself! This morning I went to the tofu shop in the city to deliver beans, saw the cavalry return with the news, shouting in the streets about the Northern Expedition victory; the army will be back this afternoon! Aunt, my cousin is coming back!!"

Hearing this, Madam Yu brushed off the dust on her clothes, delighted, turned and ran out of the courtyard, "Leave this horse with me, you go back, I'm going to greet your cousin!"

Her sister-in-law was still shouting in the courtyard, "It's my turn to cook lunch!" and asking where she was going.

Unfortunately, Madam Yu had already nimbly mounted the horse, sweeping away the gloom of these days, and rode the old horse out of the courtyard.

At the same time, this news spread throughout Secluded Prefecture.

Such joyous news hadn't been seen in years—in fact, it was unprecedented in a lifetime. Many people began to group together, hitching ox carts and horse carriages to head to Secluded Prefecture City; even those with nothing but their legs went, for this was the premier event of Secluded Prefecture, and missing it might mean regretting it for the rest of one's life.

At the same time, Zhu Ti also arrived at the mine; she first needed to clear out some space.

Fortunately, the timing was just right: the treasure ship had set sail two days ago and is still resting in Secluded Prefecture, so we can immediately transfer these people to Liaodong.

Over there, the barracks are mostly built; adding a few more rows of houses would be no trouble, for the Great King is now wealthy, having just taken the entire Eastern Xianbei's land.

It's really difficult to settle forty thousand people in a short time; she must hurry to free up space, after all, Secluded Prefecture's total population is only twelve thousand households.

As soon as Zhu Ti arrived, she directly summoned all the miners and dropped the explosive news.

"Today I have a good announcement to make. The You King won a great victory in the Northern Expedition against the Eastern Xianbei! His Highness is delighted by this great achievement and has decided to pardon part of the mine laborers. Normally we have performance evaluations at the mine, right? Those who perform better—specifically the top two hundred in the rankings—will have their slave status removed and be turned into military personnel! From now on, you two hundred will be ordinary citizens with Secluded Prefecture household registration! Your wives and children will also be free people."

Immediately below, some people became so excited they nearly fainted, others knelt and wept bitterly; happiness came too suddenly, and those two hundred in front were overcome with excitement.

In a strictly hierarchical feudal dynasty, for slaves to suddenly lose their status—here most people have been slaves for generations—how could this not be a tremendous joy?

Zhu Ti didn't care and continued: "Perhaps when you first came to Secluded Prefecture you were brought to the mines, unaware of our situation. In Secluded Prefecture, military status is the most honorable! For any good thing the Highness has, the first share goes to the military. In Secluded Prefecture, the people volunteer to join the army; the Highness pays monthly stipends on time, they have their own farmlands, weapons and armor are top‑grade, and the best martial masters teach the soldiers combat skills, which is why this army can defeat the steppe cavalry. The military households in Secluded Prefecture live exceedingly well. So, congratulations to the top two hundred!"

Immediately below, someone broke down.

No one had mentioned before that there was such an opportunity!

If you had said so earlier, they wouldn't have been loafing around like this; they would surely have been working hard!

Zhu Ti also ignored them; she simply hadn't given advance notice, and those who still worked diligently were truly of good character and deserved freedom.

"The Highness's Northern Expedition victory brings blessings far beyond this. By his grace he pardons the mine laborers: from now on, all of you will change to enlist at the New Ferry Crossing, and you will no longer have to toil here as laborers."

And there's more good news like this?

But…… is joining the army a bit dangerous? And they don't even grant release from slave status.

"The times are troubled; the Highness found a piece of wasteland to train new troops for self‑defense. If you train well and reclaim land diligently, those who perform well have a chance to shed their slave status."

"The first two hundred are just examples; performing well in battle is easy enough—just bravely kill the enemy, and this is a road to the heavens. You have seen the Highness's strength; he triumphantly returned from the Eastern Xianbei royal city. Whether your descendants can become free people without being slaves for generations depends on your performance—anyway, the Great King has given you the opportunity."

"I won't say more—go back and pack up. In an hour I'll take everyone to the ferry to board the ship. If anyone is afraid and can't enjoy this good fortune, they can stay here and be miners generation after generation; this place is safe."

That last line packs a huge punch—generations of miners?

Those who had thought joining the army was dangerous suddenly scrambled back to grab their belongings—better to live one day at a time; hurry up and leave this miserable place!

Zhu Ti went to the copper mine and did the same thing.

In place of the Great King, she drew a big, round pie for these slaves.

Afterward, these two mines freed up space that could temporarily accommodate ten thousand people.

The remaining thirty thousand could only be sent to the refugee village to wait; fortunately, with many people, houses are built quickly.

Waiting for the afternoon, when the Chancellor led all the officials of the royal mansion out of the city to greet the Great King, they discovered the outskirts were already a sea of people.

From the moment they received the news, the ever‑smiling Grand Tutor Xu rarely joked, saying, "These commoners set out from the city so early and came this far to meet us—it actually makes us look lackadaisical."

The Chancellor also realized these people must have come just because they heard the news, for he saw many porters carrying loads along the road selling steamed buns—clearly these folks hadn't gone home for lunch.

He quickly led everyone forward another stretch, so as not to appear insufficiently solemn.

After they had chosen a spot and stood firm, more and more people kept joining the welcoming lines on both sides of the road—these were folks from other counties who had just heard the news and come running.

The Great King's northern causeway had also been extended a long stretch; now, outside the north city gate for ten li, the road was encircled by people.

These people, worried they wouldn't see clearly, kept walking forward, making the welcoming line extraordinarily long.

…………………………………………

………………New Chapter……………………

………………New Chapter……………………

………………New Chapter……………………

When the Secluded Prefecture City came into view, the Great King and the Owl Cavalry moved to the front of the captives; gazing far out at the crowds lining the causeway beyond the city, the Great King felt utterly at ease—he was home.

The Chancellor led the officials out ten li from the city to kneel and welcome; Wei Shen was almost lifted aloft by the waves of cries of "Eternal joy" when he heard the Highness beside him softly say, "If only we could truly have eternal joy. Truly it would make this king happy—could we let the kings of the Xiongnu and the Tufa Xianbei drop dead in a heartbeat? Oh, and throw in the Western Xianbei too."

Wei Shen: ……

He waved his spear in front of the Great King's eyes, "Wake up! Don't sleep now that we're home!"

This time the Great King was speechless: "How can you not let people have even a little dream?!"

The Owl Cavalry still looked as stern as when they set out; although their armor was dust‑covered from the long march south, it in no way diminished their aura.

Each sat ramrod straight on their horses, holding weapons that still flashed with a cold light.

Armor may gather dust, but the weapons in their hands forever remain sharp and bright.

As they drew near, the Great King sat up straight, his imposing presence prompting everyone to rise.

The Chancellor and Grand Tutor led the crowd in a pile of flowery congratulatory writings, which made the Great King's eyes feel like mosquito‑coil smoke.

Formalism won't do!

After the Grand Tutor paused, the King immediately raised his hand to halt: "This northern expedition against the Eastern Xianbei was a great victory, not because of my abundant martial virtue, but because every Youzhou cavalryman trained seriously, observed strict discipline, and charged bravely to earn it. Victory does not come easily; it is worth celebrating. The King declares a holiday for the entire realm tomorrow! Moreover, we brought back many captives and spoils; tomorrow we will set up a temporary market in the open space outside the King's ranch, selling the spoils cheaply to the commoners, including live cattle, sheep, and horses."

The commoners began to cheer and applaud, though they might not be able to afford anything, they were just joining in the fun.

The King's contingent restarted, and they were heatedly discussing behind.

"How can we not see the end of the people behind?"

"How many captives must there be! Have we taken the old nest of the northern barbarians?"

"Look, they're wearing leather armor! This is the army of the northern barbarians!"

"The King is amazing! This column is ten times longer than when we set out—have all our people returned safely?"

"After all, he's the emperor's son, so impressive—who could believe he's still under ten years old?"

"Under ten? No way, he looks quite tall to me."

"The King is certainly formidable—with so few men he brought back so many captives, and on his first northern expedition he reached the enemy capital; this is no ordinary person, he must be an incarnation of Taibai!"

"Taibai? What do you mean?"

……

The King, upon hearing that, wanted to drag out that old man who claimed he was an incarnation of Taibai and give him a good scolding—who is Taibai?!

Even his father was frightened and gave him the name 'Jing'!

Obviously, that character didn't suppress him.

Xie Yuan and his disciple also stood in the crowd near the city gate, watching the King stride by like a proud little peacock, leading his giant fluffy thing and a troop of guards fierce as wolves and tigers.

He didn't know what he was thinking, but Lu Xin beside him stood with his mouth wide open the whole time, because these black-armored cavalry looked hardly any fewer than when they set out!

Behind them were still captives, and behind the captives should be more cavalry?

"Did we really defeat the Eastern Xianbei? Just that kid who sold us overpriced roasted sweet potatoes?!" Lu Xin was dazed.

He looked at the King sitting upright on his horse, and felt that at this moment he was a stranger.

His senior fellow disciple added: "He still doesn't do his homework, every day finding various people to write it for him."

Lu Xin: ……

The King's northern expedition took him to the Xianbei royal city deep in the harsher northern grasslands, yet his little face remained as pale and tender as ever. Does this indicate that the Eastern Xianbei are somewhat weak?

They stood there for a long time; the King had already passed, but the column still had a long half remaining to finish.

After a while longer, the captives, driven by the cavalry, began to slowly enter the city. They were to spend the night temporarily in the mine, while Wanniuyu was to go to the Youzhou Great Prison.

Some news also came from ahead, and the commoners were eagerly discussing by the roadside.

New reports came one after another: it was said the King had captured the Eastern Xianbei capital, that he had seized the Eastern Xianbei king and the nobles inside the city, and that he had brought back tens of thousands of captives and the city's treasures……

The onlookers lining the road were excited almost to madness, as if the Xianbei's treasure had already been divided among them. It's understandable; the harm the Eastern Xianbei inflicted on Youzhou was not trivial.

The master and his disciples simply stood there, watching the dust-covered, numb captives slowly file past.

Xie Yuan silently estimated the number in his mind; judging from their attire, they were likely Xianbei soldiers.

After counting past ten thousand, he stopped counting, his heart filled with astonishment.

This wasn't over; the stream seemed endless.

The populace hurled abuse at the Eastern Xianbei captives; each of them had relatives or ancestors killed by the Xianbei.

After a long while, once the captives had passed, what came forward was the supply corps.

They drove countless livestock and wagons chained together, trailing behind.

Several members of the Bai family, who specialized in horse trading, also watched from the roadside; at a glance those horses were warhorses, far superior to those raised by ordinary herders.

The Bai family elder felt a bit dazed, recalling that when the You Prince first arrived here, he still had to forcibly buy steppe horses from him to serve as warhorses… Now those horses are no longer fit to appear among the You Prince's elite cavalry.

The You Prince's warhorses were the finest steeds the Bai family elder had ever seen in his life.

In the lands of the Great Yuezhi that produce fine steeds, owning a few precious horses would make one wealthy; yet the You Prince possesses tens of thousands of such horses.

Even to this day he couldn't fathom how the You Prince's modest pasture could raise so many fine horses—just sending one south to a powerful clan could fetch a heavenly price.

He hadn't expected that the Great King had already done that.

The Black Wind Horse has already become standard equipment for the nobles attending the Ningde Emperor's birthday celebration!

Up front were the warhorses; behind them came cattle and horses seized from the Xianbei populace, along with countless sheep, drawing gasps from the crowd.

They didn't realize these were what remained after eating along the way.

Horses aren't tasty, cattle are too valuable to slaughter, but any stray sheep—or those that fell out of the 'mutton skewers' and were dragged injured—the Great King had them slaughtered to make mutton soup for the soldiers.

Originally nobody was interested in the market the Great King mentioned, but now it seems there might actually be something worth buying.

Before the procession into the city had even finished, the Great King had already returned to his palace.

He immediately granted three days' leave to the cavalry who had no immediate duties; locals could go home right away, while others could relax for a few days.

Before heading home empty-handed would be improper; the clerk still needed time to tally the battle achievements—a massive undertaking—and the spoils had to be re‑inventoryed, for which the Great King had agreed to award according to merit.

For those going home after three days off, there ought to be some token; the Great King waved his hand and declared, 'Each person first receives twenty taels of silver!' We must be willing to spend money on the elite who risk their lives.

As the officials trailing behind, sweating as they hurried, arrived, they heard a tremendous cheer coming from the Northern Barracks.

What vitality! After returning from a grueling thousand‑mile northern campaign, they're still this elated—this campaign must have gone extremely smoothly.

Everyone was waiting to corner the Great King at tomorrow's morning audience for answers, but he skipped work again the next day.

Tongchen came running, sweat pouring down his face, to tell them that the Great King said he was also taking leave and wouldn't resume work for three days.

'His Highness said the soldiers are all resting three days; there's no reason to treat him differently here. His Highness said he's still young, still growing, needs a few days to recuperate, and once he's recovered he'll naturally come to court.'

Chancellor: ……

Grand Tutor Xu slapped his ears, 'What? Wait until he recovers?'

Can we still see the Great King himself this month?!