Chapter 278

Xiaoqi came back and said he had already tossed Elder Xiao out of the South City Gate, watching them walk away to the south.

Wei Shen set down the military knife he was toying with and said, "Will doing this actually be useful? How much will Bai Li Jin believe it?"

The Great King was coaxing Zhetian on one side; this eagle's life has also been improving, and he personally feeds it mutton strips.

These past two days the Great King has been painstakingly coaxing this creature, and he absolutely won't give it chicken if it wants mutton.

Upon hearing that, he interjected, "You don't understand the eldest brother; he only believes what he wants to believe. Compared to the king's success, it's still better to rely on the Marquis of Dongdu to put his mind at ease—he'll believe it. If he could shift his gaze from Youzhou and pay more attention to the second and fourth brothers, we'd have fewer troubles. Anyway, being idle is just being idle, cough cough..."

The Great King was saying this when Zhu Ti walked in from outside, and he immediately shut his mouth.

The busiest person has arrived.

What is Zhu Ti busy with? Naturally, all the preliminary preparations must go through the Grand Steward's hands.

She is busy preparing the military rations to bring on the long-distance raid.

If we ever have to march to the northwest, the route passes through our own territory, so the Great King wouldn't feel right seizing supplies from the Great Jin's civilians.

"Your Highness, are you busy?"

The Great King set down the eagle, "... Not bad."

"Fine, go ahead and spend some money to top up." Zhu Ti said bluntly.

The Great King immediately covered his little purse, "Why, we have so much grain!" He understood Zhu Ti's meaning and had him top up military rations from Bai Yang and Qiao Yi.

"You don't want to bring too many logistics troops either, or we won't be able to carry much grain. Bringing more grain means more people, slower wagons, and a bigger target."

She then pointed at Wei Shen, "All the sugar he brought has been used up, and our limited supply of homemade high-energy food isn't enough to sustain the cavalry heading northwest."

The Great King felt anguished, "Even if I've recently made a fortune, I can't afford to top up on Bigu Pills!"

Zhu Ti said, "If we still have to go into the desert and you don't bring enough food, are you planning to starve to death in the vast desert?"

Wei Shen raised his hand, "Um, we don't have to loot; can't we just buy supplies along the way?"

The Great King looked at his cousin with the expression of looking at an idiot, "Now you can see people from Liangzhou anywhere in the Great Jin, yet you can't see them locally. They started fleeing south when the Xiongnu came down, and now they've mostly scattered—who's going to sell you grain? Those who stayed alive are lucky enough; their property is probably already in Xiongnu hands."

Wei Shen:... Forgot.

"This year Liangzhou's land is barren too." The Great King thought of that and felt heartache.

He was planning to take a break, wait for Lan He to show up, then kill Lan He and take back what the Xiongnu had stolen. Now he's reflecting on how Bingzhou and Liangzhou have been tossed about like this, and it'll take years to recover.

Just like Wing Prefecture, it's tasteless to chew and a shame to discard.

The Great King sighed like a little adult, "I want to seize Jiankang and Luoyang." His neighbors and such are all too shabby; this king looks down on them—if this king were to go looting, even this king himself wouldn't want to go!

Wei Shen waved his hand in front of him, "We're discussing matters, stop day‑dreaming!"

Your Highness: ……

Your Highness indeed couldn't afford enough fasting pills for the cavalry; in fact his storehouse held high‑calorie, high‑protein military rations, and he loved stockpiling like a little hamster. The next day he had Zhu Ti move some out, and then had Bai Yang give him another batch of goods.

On the third day, Your Highness wrote another letter and had Zhetian deliver it to Changzhou.

This time Zhetian was practiced; not finding Marquis Wei Ting, he sought someone else, and Your Highness received a reply that afternoon.

Marquis Wei Ting and Wei Peng still hadn't returned, and no word had come.

Your Highness and Wei Shen exchanged a glance; this northwest trip was now unavoidable.

Wei Shen was actually a bit hesitant: "Why don't you lend me some people? I'll go myself. You've got plenty to do in Youzhou."

Your Highness ignored him: "I'm afraid you'd lure away my main force. Don't even think about it."

He summoned Zhang Tu and Zhu Ti, formally informing them they would set out for the northwest the day after tomorrow.

Zhang Tu hesitated a moment, then asked, "Your Highness, are we bringing all the cavalry?"

Your Highness nodded, and he understood: this time they would actually clash with the Xiongnu who control Bingzhou and Liangzhou.

"This time we may run into a fierce battle."

Actually he didn't want to face the Xiongnu so soon—not because he feared them or couldn't beat them, but because after seizing that long border line there was no one to garrison it.

Anyway, now isn't the best time; I don't know which clever sort teamed up with the Western Regions to foist this big gift package on him, forcing him to make a premature northwest march to meet the Xiongnu.

That night Your Highness went out again to stir up trouble, summoning the warship‑assigned NPCs from his manor, secretly launching two assault warships at the seaside and having them strip some gunpowder crossbows and crossbow bolts.

With so many troops on the march, even a small logistics unit must be brought along, and warhorses can't carry too much food.

Anyway, we'll need wagons; might as well bring some formidable weapons just in case.

Moreover, Your Highness feared that in chaotic times the logistics unit, lacking the combat value of cavalry, couldn't defend itself, and would be too embarrassed if refugees or the like looted it.

Thus having the two weapon NPCs follow the logistics unit with some artillery personnel also counts as a safety guarantee.

After all, judging from the experience of the previous northern expedition against the Eastern Xianbei, the logistics unit and the cavalry are usually separate most of the time.

Everything arranged, Your Highness calmly set up a stall at the market, selling the trinkets the Wang clan had seized.

"Jade specialty sale — high‑quality seed white jade mountain, cheap sale!"

Bai Yang and Qiao Yi stood aside, watching imposingly.

Bai Yang: "They say when people encounter big events they get nervous and anxious, their behavior patterns become abnormal; why is he becoming even more normal?"

Qiao Yi: "Your Highness is the chosen one; when he comes to the homestead, things are given away as freebies, and people's main task is to contend for the world."

Bai Yang: "Exactly! He's a big player; we're just passerby NPCs hired to play along."

Qiao Yi: "That hits home."

Your Highness sold a black‑jade inkstone, then turned around and heard the two openly chirping at him.

Your Highness decided to collect some contribution money.

"White Brother, Qiao Brother, we both have black hair and black eyes, so our customs and feelings should be the same, right?! I've finished my first year, my ennoblement is past, the grand wedding is still early; I reckon in recent years there hasn't been much chance for you to show brotherly feelings…"

Seeing the two still sitting cross‑legged foolishly, unaware, Your Highness made a sudden turn.

"Look, the day after tomorrow I'm going on campaign, ah~ aren't you going to chip in some contribution money? After all, it's a major event in my life!"

Qiao Yi, after hearing Your Highness's tricky money‑making method, finally reacted, laughing hysterically: "That customer just now didn't pay little, did he? Selling so expensively and still squeezing us two."

Bai Yang, not ashamed to ask: "May I ask, Your Highness, what modest gift should we give to show brotherly feelings?" Just say what you want straight up; it's all a scheme, all schemes.

The Great King had been waiting for this; upon hearing those words, he happily took out a thick little booklet from his bosom...

Qiao Yi stood up, "I think I forgot to lock my door; I'll go back and check."

Bai Yang patted his butt, lifted his leg, and was about to leave, "I just remembered I forgot to feed my cat!"

The Great King leapt up and pressed them back down, "What cat? You don't have a cat at your place! And you, you think I don't know you're using a seal? When have you ever used a lock?!"

Qiao Yi:

Bai Yang:

"I don't need much either, Qiao Ge, just two bottles of Bigu Pill. I'm not unable to afford it; I'm getting it just in case. If I don't use it, I can return it later. You can keep selling it here! Bai Ge, first get me something tasty to eat—not the vegetable buns from last time, but some good meat! Then get that purified water, and also get shoe insoles and masks..."

"Stop!" Bai Yang interrupted him, "Just give me the booklet directly!"

"All right!" Crisp!

Qiao Ge, your task is a bit light; if you feel it's too little, you can add some money. When you get married, I'll return it to you.

Qiao Yi:

That's stretching it too far.