Chapter 279

The Great King stood at the drill ground of the West Grand Camp, holding an oath-taking assembly for the second time.

He hadn't expected that in just half a year, this would already be the second time.

"This time we send troops to the northwest; the reason… is not entirely because the missing southwest army's commander is my mother's clan. Simply put, their current predicament largely stems from me. So this expedition is still self-rescue. In these troubled times, if I, the You King, wish to be at ease, and the people of You Prefecture wish to live in peace, we cannot be enemies of the whole world. You Prefecture needs the support and vigilance of Chang Prefecture's southwest army; we will help them overcome this crisis, and also go to Bing Prefecture and Liang Prefecture to meet the Xiongnu."

"Expel the Xiongnu!"

"Expel the Xiongnu!"

"Expel the Xiongnu!"

The king paused, and the ten thousand people present shouted in unison.

The king was immensely pleased; reviewing the troops was truly a great invention—before, there was no such skill, and yet they shouted with such vigor!

"We gave You Prefecture a hand, and its people have already begun returning home. Now we also lend a hand to our other neighbors. How can we allow others to snore soundly beside our bed? With the Xiongnu nearby, what good days could we have? We must stay vigilant! If we don't fight this encounter now, we won't be able to escape later. While the Xiongnu have just taken over and haven't found their footing, let's give them a taste of defeat, heavily blunt their invading main force of the Great Jin! As long as we drive away the Xiongnu, the entire northern frontier will later fall under our You Prefecture. Our You Prefecture cavalry is the strongest force in the world; I have confidence in you all—do you have confidence?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!"

That is necessary.

The You Prefecture cavalry fought two battles this year, and they were immensely satisfying. After the war, the king generously rewarded them with merit and silver; they have finally come to know what it's like for the whole family to have enough to eat, and finally realized that through their own effort, even common folk can rise. This generation, by giving it their all, not only can their families be well-fed and warm, but the next generation will also have support.

If a You Prefecture soldier happens to die in battle, the You King's mansion will support the soldier's parents for the rest of their lives and raise the orphans to adulthood. The newest policy states that after they come of age, they will also be assigned work, so they have something to rely on for the remainder of their lives. Therefore, as long as the You King lives well and the You King's mansion stands firm, that is the top priority for You Prefecture.

Anyway, with the king here, they can live such good days.

We're still fighting the northern border tribes; no mobilization needed—each is more eager than the last.

Wei Shen and Zhou Ke stood behind the table; he nudged Zhou Ke's arm and said, "Did you see? This is the power of getting rich selling health supplements."

Zhou Ke: "Huh?"

Wei Shen: "Sigh, you all don't understand!"

After concluding, the king summoned Zhao Chuan again; this time Zhang Tu went along, while Zhao Chuan stayed behind to cooperate with the Eastern Capital Marquis in guarding You Prefecture.

There are still nearly thirty thousand soldiers in the city; holding it is no problem.

The next day, just as dawn broke, the ten thousand cavalry of You Prefecture, plus a thousand-person logistics supply unit, quietly set out from the West Main Camp.

The cavalry's warhorses carried enough rations to support each soldier for seven days, as well as feed to replenish the horses' nutrition; fortunately, this season the horses' fodder is easy to come by, and in the sparsely populated northern lands, wild grass grows everywhere.

The king still brought his family along when he went out.

The bulky Sky-Coverer, whom he disliked for its size and moved onto the horse's back, had a giant fluffy White Marsh following beside it.

The bear has already hidden away.

As soon as the White Marsh appeared, it successfully captured everyone's attention, and the king shot it a resentful little glance.

No leaking secrets, no making it ride—watching the bear at home is wonderful.

The White Marsh ignored him, lazily walking over and squatting beside him.

For this, the king pestered him half the night yesterday asking about his uncle and maternal grandfather's news; the White Marsh could utter not a word, and after being annoyed by him to no end, it finally said a single sentence: when he saw Wei Shen this afternoon, he still had the appearance of both parents being alive.

The king spent five seconds shocked that it could read faces, then realized: this means his uncle is temporarily unharmed!

The king's anxiety dissipated all at once; this morning at the assembly, everyone wore smiles. Now seeing the flashy, fluffy creature, I feel a bit sour—what a broad back, letting this king lie down—what's wrong with that?

The White Marsh gave him a dark stare, and only then did the king sit properly on the horse's back.

"What are you looking at? Haven't you seen a White Marsh before!"

First time nervous, second time familiar—the king saw the crowds lining the streets to see him off, more composed than the first time; he rode through, leaving the people a cool, aloof silhouette.

This guy set out in full armor, imposing as he left the city; as soon as he was out of the people's sight, he immediately took off the armor and changed into ordinary clothes—wearing armor in the northern lands was starting to get hot.

Even the lightest armor isn't as comfortable as cloth!

There is a straight expressway from You Prefecture to Yi Prefecture; as the Black Wind Horses run, their horseshoes strike the hard road, sounding so mighty that it doesn't seem like ten thousand cavalry but rather like a hundred thousand in motion.

This time truly bears the aura of the Black Wind Horse's predecessor, the Thunderbolt Horse!

Now, on his clean expressway, the king can already picture these horses running across the yellow earth.

This is more exhilarating than going to the snow-covered grasslands in winter; the king successfully revived the memories of the fallen frontier road.

Fortunately, later generations are smart; masks are truly a great invention.

The people of other county towns didn't know what was happening; hearing the commotion, they came out to watch, and only felt reassured when they saw the high-floating 'You' character military banner.

Our own people.

"Our You Prefecture cavalry?"

"Where are they going? To neighboring Yi Prefecture?"

"How would we know? We haven't heard anything!"

"Our cavalry is really imposing!"

When they saw the huge fluffy creature in the ranks, an elder led the way, kneeling at the roadside and calling out, "Greetings to the divine envoy!"

The king laughed and said: "You're more useful than I am!"

The Xiongnu to the north believe in shamanism; they not only have sky gods, mountain gods, and fire gods, but also totem worship—animal gods like eagles, tigers, and so on. The northern lands of the Great Jin similarly regard strange-looking animals as divine. In the era of the king's high ancestor, they obtained a white deer, which was called a divine envoy.

Later, after the king and Bai Yang settled accounts, they learned it was merely albinism, a slight change brought about by genes.

Once we had those two seaside creatures, the king completely demystified these things—how could he not know their weight in catties?

Divine envoy— the people of You Prefecture also call the sperm whale and mirage that.

Now, when they call the White Marsh that, the king isn't surprised; after all, regardless of appearance, skills, or origin, this creature is still the most fitting.

The king, for the first time, borrowed the tiger's might by following the White Marsh and managed to get in on the worship; those people never noticed the king squeezed between the owl riders.

Because they dared to come out and watch, the king was quite pleased.

"Look at how confident our You Prefecture people are—already much bolder than before. Seeing so many people still dare to come out and confirm who it is! Previously, when we went to Rock Sparrow Mountain to suppress bandits, the people, upon seeing the mounted troops, would immediately flee into the mountains without a word~"

Wei Shen, a fellow student from Chang Prefecture, went over the cause and effect, and also didn't think there was anything to be proud of.

With the expressway they moved quickly; on the first night they rested within Wing Prefecture.

Soldiers quickly set up tents; the King ate a simple meal and went to rest. Today is the most relaxed day of the journey ahead: 'Go to sleep early, cousin; Lingyin too, tomorrow will be tiring.'

This guy is also bold, knowing his maternal uncle is safe and well-fed, he makes Wei Shen envy him to the fullest.

Just as he was dozing off, the guy next to him suddenly sat up, saying, 'There's movement outside.'

Wei Shen narrowed his eyes and said speechlessly, 'What? You're dreaming.'

Lingyin also got up: 'Yes.'

The King began putting on his outer clothes: 'You'll see, I, the King, said there would be.'

Lingyin, who had lain down fully clothed, went to check and soon returned to tell them, '... The night‑watch soldiers caught a few horse thieves.'

The King slammed the table and rose: 'At this time, stealing my warhorses—are they our own people? I, the King, will go hack them into pieces!'

Wei Shen, who had been angry, was instantly made speechless by him; Lingyin sat down calmly: 'You won't.'

The King was looked down upon, he lifted his little head and walked out of the tent.

In troubled times, strict laws apply; I, the King, understand this principle—watch me, I was still six years old!

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The King had long left being six years old behind; he went to the scene, took a look, recalling the harsh words he'd just spoken, he turned to leave—but the on‑duty soldier, sharp‑eyed, saw him and called out.

Your Highness!

The King muttered, 'I, the King, am no longer six; these little bandits look not even six years old!'

The horse thieves caught by the soldiers formed a line; the biggest was about his size, the smallest seemed four or five years old.

Hacking them into pieces was impossible; the King went up with a stern face to intimidate them: 'Did your parents send you to steal horses? Do you think the law doesn't punish the young? I, the King, won't lay a hand on punishing children.'

As soon as he said that, the little four‑ or five‑year‑old suddenly burst into loud sobs, 'Mommy~ I want Mommy!' Meanwhile a seven‑ or eight‑year‑old shoved a hand over his mouth and boldly retorted, 'We never intended to steal horses!'

The King: 'Oh? Then what are you doing here?'

The biggest stepped forward, clenched his resolve, and said, 'We really didn't mean to steal horses; we just came… to pick up some horse dung.'

Pick up… what?

The King nearly stumbled at his words: 'Why are you picking up horse dung? Besides, after we break camp and leave, you could pick it up then—why sneak around at night to do it?'

Seeing that the King was about their size, when he arrived the fierce soldiers stepped back, and a few kids plucked up courage, beginning to chime in with their replies.

'We never get a turn in the day!' those adults came and snatched them away.

Horse dung—we pick it up to fertilize the fields!

Second Grandfather said we planted late this year; maybe we'll all starve to death this winter...

If we die, we die; I just want my mom~

The King actually didn't understand at first; after asking further he learned that these kids were living together with an old man whom they called Second Grandfather, and that they were war‑orphaned children from the neighboring village.

The King's heart immediately felt uneasy—he, too, lacked parents. But he was fortunate: he had a fief to toss about in, and a sister by his side.

A four‑ or five‑year‑old saying 'If we die, we die'—that numbness is chilling.

Now looking closely at these children, they wear tattered shorts and shirts, barefoot, each sallow and thin. The weather is nice now, but in winter they don't know if they'll have covering clothes.

In troubled times, children are even more pitiable.

Although he hadn't gone to verify it yet, the King already believed what they said.

He had the soldiers send the children back, meanwhile checking on the truth of their words.

Punishment was unnecessary; as the actual ruler of this land, seeing four‑ or five‑year‑olds going out in the middle of the night to pick up horse dung made him feel uneasy as well.

Watching the group depart, the King thought a moment and decided to bring Lingyin along—otherwise he wouldn't be able to sleep for a while.

In the pitch darkness, the children also knew the way home.

The cavalry lifted them onto horseback, and after a short ride they discovered a small village in a mountain hollow.

At this time, what should have been a pitch‑dark village was now noisy, with people holding torches searching the streets for the children. The King thus knew the matter was almost certainly true—the village clearly had just discovered the children were missing and didn't know where they'd gone.

A detachment of cavalry entered the village, quickly drawing the villagers' attention, and before long they were surrounded by a crowd.

The King, like a passerby, lurked in the back observing the leading soldiers negotiate with the villagers; the matter was soon settled.

The villagers had heard that Wing Prefecture had been ceded to the Xianbei, so a batch of people fled; those who stayed were stubborn old folk unwilling to leave their homeland, plus others for various reasons. After all that turmoil, when You King took over they came back, but now the village holds only half its former population.

Some died on the escape route, some never returned, and some… were seized by the Xianbei.

These children are of the same clan, now all orphans, living with a paternal grandfather of the same clan who also lost his family. By day villagers watched the big army pass by, and they had set up camp near their village; the old farmers said that with so many warhorses, after they left the leftover horse dung could be gathered and piled in the fields—perhaps it could salvage this year's mistimed crops.

For the poor of the Northern Lands, horse dung is also a good thing: piled in the ground it fertilizes the soil, dried it can be burned in winter for warmth. The impoverished masses have no luxury to complain about smell; the trees on the mountains are nearly logged bare, and for villages far from the hills, staying warm in winter has always been a major problem.

It's no surprise the King's coal isn't selling—who buys coal when they can't even afford a meal? How many people in the city? Those living in remote villages, the lowest‑class commoners, simply can't afford it. Yet the King also feels wronged: his mining costs are high, the coal mine inside and out is all at his own expense! He also has to rely on coal to support the nearby counties…

The village elders spoke of horse dung with excessive excitement, describing a pile of it as a supreme treasure, and the children took those words to heart.

'We thought that after the horses left in the daytime, Uncle Shuan and Fifth Lord would definitely go pick it up—there'd be no share for us. Second Grandfather still has work to do at home, so I wanted to bring my brothers out first tonight…' the eldest child said, head lowered, slowly.

The one raising them was a thin old man; hearing this, he dropped to his knees before the leading soldiers and pleaded, 'Sir, don't blame the children—it's the old man who failed to watch them! The kids are so sensible, don't blame them, blame me, blame me……'

The King's face darkened hearing that; what official would dare blame him?

Old sir, hurry up and get up—this isn't your fault, nor is it a big deal. It's just a misunderstanding; Your Highness won't pursue it. The children going out of the village at night is still dangerous, so you'd better keep reminding them.

Certainly, certainly!