Chapter 280: Struggle

The Great King really didn't know what condition the villages in Wing Province were in now; having come all this way, he intended to get a thorough understanding.

He had the squad leader disperse the onlooking villagers, and they followed these children back to their homes.

An old man led a group of children, the oldest being eleven; the home surely wasn't very tidy, but it still exceeded the Great King's imagination.

The Ma family had no place to set foot.

The yard and the rooms were filled with wood and wood shavings; nothing else remained. One could tell that this Mr. Ma was a carpenter.

At this moment, the phrase "bare walls" became concrete.

Although it was still dark in the middle of the night, the solar-powered little lantern he brought was bright, illuminating this distressed home clearly.

"Where are the beds? Where do you sleep?" With this layout laid bare, the Great King instantly realized that many basic household necessities were missing from this home.

Beside him, a child curiously eyeing the lantern in his hand pointed to the wood shavings in the corner, saying, "There!"

Indeed, the Great King saw individual "nests" in that pile of wood shavings.

Seeing that the people under his jurisdiction lived like this, the Great King began to feel uneasy.

"Um, old sir, you're a carpenter? Having a skill these days is a good thing. Do you have land? Have you planted crops yet?" The Great King started making conversation.

Ma Er Ye wasn't sure of the Great King's identity; seeing the soldiers treat him with respect, he replied cautiously, "Sir, we have no land left. Before the turmoil, I worked at the city's woodworking shop; later…… only the old man remained, and we took in these clan children to live together. They're good kids, alas, our fate is poor, we've fallen into these times—we'll just live day by day as long as we can."

Others in the village also struggled; there weren't many intact households left.

They could barely manage their own families, let alone care for these orphaned children; they were willing but unable.

Ma Er Ye had taken in so many not because he was confident he could feed them all, but because he thought, "We'll live however long we can; as long as I'm alive, I'll feed them one day at a time." In short, it's "break the pot and break the sink."

Upon hearing this, the Great King exclaimed, "This won't do!"

Although each is dark and thin, they are the future of this land!

"Old man, this place is now under the King of You; the Xianbei have been driven out, and things will surely get better. You have a skill—you could go to You Province to find a livelihood!" Who would you sell your woodwork to here!

Ma Er Ye thought the Great King naïve—how far is Youzhou City? These old folks and little ones would surely starve to death on the way.

"I've heard Youzhou City is the safest now. But it's too far; I can't go. Maybe when they grow up they'll save enough for travel expenses. Thank you for your guidance, sir."

The Great King had spent a day rushing here, yet to others it was a journey they could hardly make in a lifetime.

The Great King asked the eldest boy, "Do you want to go to You Province?"

That boy's face was sallow, but his eyes shone black and bright; hearing the Great King's words, he nodded vigorously, secretly glancing at the nearby soldier, and declared firmly, "When I grow up, I'll join the army in You Province—I heard they drove off the northern barbarians! When I'm grown, I'll enlist to avenge my father!"

Ma Er Ye shook his head, "Alas! His father died on the battlefield."

The Great King was very pleased with this boy—he was responsible and ambitious, and most importantly, he had the bearing of an elder brother. Though he was only a year older, he looked at others with the gaze of someone looking at children.

"What's your name?"

"Ma Shi."

"Good, I've remembered you."

The Great King took a small carving from his waist and handed it to him—it was his latest favorite, a figurine of his family's bear carved from mutton-fat jade.

"Take this; go to the Wanxiang City on Zhuque Avenue in Youzhou and find their shopkeeper."

He then pulled out five taels of silver from his pocket—actually from the warehouse—and handed it to Ma Er Ye beside him, saying, "This is travel money. Take that bear figurine to find the shopkeeper at Wanxiang City; she'll set you up with work to make a living. In two months, Youzhou will open a school anyone can attend, and these children can go there to study and learn to read."

Without waiting for his reaction, the Great King left.

Seeing Ma Er Ye's trembling hand, he suddenly didn't want to watch what came next. The people of the Northern Border suffered too much; the Great King felt his trip had been worthwhile.

Who knows how many people in Bing Province and Liang Province are still barely surviving under the Xiongnu's grasp.

It turns out there's no such thing as a suitable or unsuitable time; now, this very moment, is the best opportunity.

The Great King left decisively, but on the road he couldn't help asking Ling Yin, "Do you think they'll go?"

"Probably. If they don't go, those five taels will feed them for a while." He emphasized being pragmatic.

Saying that, without merely spouting pleasantries, the Great King felt reassured instead.

Back in the tent, Wei Shen was still dazed and not asleep; hearing the commotion, he jumped up immediately, "How many pieces did the thieves chop into? Can I still catch the excitement if I go look tomorrow morning?"

The Great King: ……

The thieves didn't even get chopped up, yet he threw in five taels of silver—can you believe it!

Indeed, people shouldn't just throw around harsh words.

The Great King casually lay down in his spot, closed his eyes, and said, "I'm so sleepy—I actually saw my cousin sleepwalking."

Wei Shen: ……

The next morning, after continuing the journey, the Great King hastily met the Duke of the Eastern Capital in Wing Province and discussed future deployments.

Now the Great King's mindset had completely changed; on this trip he would retrieve Bing Province and Liang Province.

How to defend it after retaking it is a problem; Shanggu Pass has only fifty thousand troops, which must be placed at the crucial point.

Before, they only guarded the north facing the barbarians; now Bai Li Jin also needs to be guarded against. The only thing worth celebrating is that, as long as it falls under his domain, Meng Meng will probably give a warning if there's an invasion?

No one available, the Great King even kept Meng Meng in mind.

"…Let's settle on this for now: if my expedition goes smoothly, I'll have the Southwest Army send personnel to help me guard Yumen Pass; Shuofang I'll entrust to Uncle Liang; if anything comes up, I'll have Zhu Ti contact you again."

"Shuofang can only spare twenty thousand troops, which can't compare to the previous hundred thousand."

The Great King nodded; that was also unavoidable.

People are stretched thin; thinking of those who died in the Battle of Duoye makes him ache.

"Once things settle, I'll conscript more people to fill the ranks," he said, "if these provinces still have able-bodied men."

With no rice to cook, the Great King could do nothing. This poor fellow could only repeat pitifully, "Any southern refugees who come will be taken in, and their attitude must be good."

The Great King spared no effort in deceiving people about population numbers, and even the Duke of the Eastern Capital was amused by him.

"Your Highness, we will surely pass this checkpoint."

"Certainly."

★

Great King's Diary:

【June 7th, on the march.】

I, the King, have eaten and drunk well in You Prefecture; it's not that the Southwest Army had an incident, so I probably won't take the initiative to campaign against Bing and Liang Prefectures this year.

I, the King, always feel it's not the right time; You Prefecture hasn't developed yet; if I can defend You Prefecture well, I'll have fulfilled my duty.

Before, I always thought they were Chang'an's responsibility; upon going out and seeing the people in tattered clothes, struggling to survive in the mire, as a member of the Baili imperial clan, failing to protect them, I, the King, feel deeply ashamed.

Baili Jin, in order to smoothly succeed as Crown Prince, holding three hundred thousand troops with no opposition, directly drove the people of the northern lands into fire and water.

I, the King, will never forgive him again.】

★

★

★

The weather is scorching hot.

Wei Shen has already hung his face veil on his horse.

After marching half a day in the wilderness, the metal, baked by the sun, scorches the skin; the feeling of it covering one's face is indescribable.

He wipes the sweat from his forehead, lets out a long sigh, "I feel like I've been baked half-done~"

Both metal and black absorb light. As they head west, it gets drier; as time moves into midsummer, the temperature keeps rising, and their whole faces are sunburned like those of Southern Frontier people.

Now only the Great King beside him is full of vigor; the Great King comes over cheerfully, asking, "What flavor do you like? Half-cooked needs seasoning—chili powder or cumin?"

Wei Shen, weak and angry, barks, "Get lost~!"

The attendant from Prosperous Prefecture who followed him beside him was so frightened he choked on his own saliva, started coughing violently, "Second Young Master!"—"Do you not want to live anymore?!"

The Great King plays along with his act, "You wait; after the battle is over, I will certainly punish your crime!"

Wei Shen continues listlessly, "Go ahead and punish me; then the silver this young master owes will be written off—when a person dies, their debt disappears."

The Great King immediately retracts, "Then it's better to wait until you repay your debt."

In the windless northwest summer, the banners can't even rise; the whole unit is left just numb marching.

These days, the army's rations are being consumed slowly; the Great King is somewhat worried that the soldiers' stamina is being depleted too much, affecting the battle situation.

After all, they've undertaken a long journey, and their numbers are still few.

The most spirited in the whole unit is the Great King himself, probably thanks to his heart as a city lord; the Great King adapts well to the climate, not even sweating.

Wei Shen initially envied him for two days, but now he has resigned himself and started calling him a little demon.

Since entering Bing Prefecture, the Great King eagerly hopes to encounter the Xiongnu main force; the sooner they fight, the sooner he can be at ease.

Who would have thought that after passing a few small towns, there were hardly any Xiongnu people; these barbarians, after looting once, simply returned to the big cities.

The Great King led his troops through the city once, only able to kill the Xiongnu officials left locally, then announced to the populace that this place now falls under the jurisdiction of the You King.

In some places the people will be overjoyed; in others they remain numb, apparently not having recovered from the blow, unable to adapt to this eightfold speed of rotation.

The original officials had already fled back to Chang'an; the lone Xiongnu left to guard died, and these counties, once the army departs, fall back into anarchy. The Great King had no choice but to write another hand letter to Vermilion Hill, asking the Chancellor to devise a way to send people to take over.

No matter what rank the former officials held, as long as they are loyal enough, send them out to be trained.

That day the army arrived at Wise Peace City; from afar they saw the gates tightly shut, the city walls crowded with heads.

When they drew nearer, the spyglass made clear: a whole wall of Xianbei people.

The Great King has finally come across a proper fight.

"Our first hard battle is coming. Pass the order: rest in place, recover, then attack the city!"

Wise Peace is the second-largest city in Bing Prefecture; the Xiongnu won't just let go; now defending it is Lan He's relative, Qiu Linyi.

Since the Great King seized the first county in Bing Prefecture, they got the news; however, those places had just been scraped of a layer of earth by them, and they didn't care much, only waiting for the Great King to arrive at this garrisoned Wise Peace City to take it down in one fell swoop.

Which army flying the 'You' banner is, Qiu Linyi couldn't figure out; the Xiongnu are too far east, and he's hardly ever heard the name of the You King.

He also never even considered that the Xianbei army might no longer have this possibility……

Qiu Linyi waited two days; these people finally came; from afar, looking at them, they're not bad, huh?!

It turns out to be fully armored cavalry!

Qiu Linyi had everything ready and was just waiting for the Great King; who would have thought the army would stop right there in the distance, then cooking smoke curled up, and they actually began burying pots to cook?

They just sit down to eat at this hour, neither early nor late?

The daytime is too hot; at dawn, when the sky first lightened, the You Prefecture cavalry struck camp and set out. Now it's almost noon; the Great King couldn't let the soldiers who had marched far attack on empty stomachs, so he moved lunch forward.

He thought, everyone have a meal, take a break, then attack the city.

If all goes well, we won't need to set up camp tonight.

Qiu Linyi feels the Great King is extremely disrespectful toward him; this nonchalant attitude is really provocative.

With the troops at the city gates, you started cooking halfway through the morning?!

He observed the drooping banner with a furious face, "Is that banner really the You character? Could it truly be the troops of some prince of You Prefecture? Princes aren't they part of the Great Jin imperial clan? Isn't an imperial edict from the emperor usable?"

After the Great King had eaten his rice porridge with soaked beef jerky, waiting left and right with no movement, Qiu Linyi became utterly furious. The hot, dry weather made his inner fire flare, and he was especially angry at this moment.

Moreover, a surrendering minor official from inside the city explained to him, "……Those who came are probably not just the You Prefecture cavalry so simply. Look at the largest banner; it's one size larger than ordinary military banners and has a bright yellow trim—this indicates—the You King has arrived in person. When the You King is not in the formation, the banner is lowered a grade, so it wouldn't look like what we see now."

Qiu Linyi sneered, "You King? What relation does he have to the Crown Prince who hasn't yet ascended the throne?"

"Half-brothers."

"Great! So he… isn't he just the deceased emperor's own son? Hahaha, brothers, listen up—we'll capture the You King alive later! Let's get Chang'an to fork out silver to ransom his life!"

"Yes!"

"Capture the You King alive!"

They shouted slogans enthusiastically on the city walls; the Great King was too far off to hear, and if he knew, he'd surely have to laugh a bit first.

If he were captured, first, Baili Jin would immediately hold a celebration in Chang'an; then, second, he would surely spare no effort to desperately provoke the Xiongnu, urging them to kill the hostages as soon as possible.

Baili Jin would spend money to ransom him?

Even if the mountains had no ridges and heaven and earth united, there'd still be no chance!

If the roles were reversed, the king would be the same. At most, he wouldn't hold a celebratory banquet; he has no musicians or dancers.

The king, right now, doesn't know their dreams; after finishing his meal, he's using the digestion time to give the cavalry psychological building.

""We have seen all along the miserable state of the people who have fallen into the hands of the Xiongnu. The people pay taxes to support us; the duty of us soldiers, the most important of which is to protect our land and our people. The five provinces that Chang'an easily gave away— they don't want them, but I, the prince, do!""

""We soldiers usually train diligently in martial arts and study military tactics, all for this very moment? To drive out the invaders and give the people peace. Although in this western campaign we have brought only ten thousand cavalry as our main force, but just in case, another ten thousand have already set out from Youzhou, following behind us to join the western campaign, and will give us support when needed.""