Chapter 439

After several days had passed, Da Wang finally felt the bloody smell in his nose dissipate; the over four hundred people, exhausted to the point of shedding skin, were seen recovering as they walked back and forth, their steps noticeably lighter.

Da Wang still remembered the scene after that battle: a row of people lying under the scorching sun, sucking in oxygen.

This battle, due to the overwhelming disparity in numbers and high altitude, was more arduous than any previous one; Da Wang thought that even the hundred-gold reward for making a wish felt insufficient.

But, "Cousin, four hundred fifty people, each receiving a hundred gold—is that four thousand five hundred taels of silver or forty-five thousand taels? I, Da Wang, am not good with calculations~" His head buzzed~

Wei Shen, in low spirits, stared blankly for a moment, gave a half-hearted reply, "... Probably forty-five thousand taels?" Four thousand five hundred taels was too little—nowhere near enough to hire the Great Cover Heavenly One for two trips.

Da Wang chuckled foolishly, "That's fine, it's not too much either~"

Beside him, Wei Ke couldn't bear their self-comfort any longer, "It's four hundred fifty thousand taels."

Startled awake by a splash, Da Wang let out a miserable cry, "Ah—!" and flopped back onto the bed behind him. Wei Shen was amused by him, sat up to join Da Wang's act, rushed over, grabbed Da Wang, and shook him, "Da Wang, you can't die! Even if you did, the words you've spoken as a golden mouth and jade tongue must be fulfilled by your cousins! Rest assured, I'll go back and sell one shop on Zhuque Avenue—that'll be enough..."

Upon hearing about selling family assets, Da Wang struggled to push him away, "No need to sell! I still have this bit of money!"

"Hmph!"

After Wei Shen snorted, he heard Da Wang muttering beside him, "Four hundred fifty thousand taels—really a lot of money~ Da Wang's not doing well~ It'd take two solid months of mining silver ore..."

The Wei brothers:...

The two stood up and walked away together...

Digging for two months would yield it—what sympathy does this guy need!?

Da Wang refused, still pulling them to calculate, "The forty-five thousand taels I've promised—have you accounted for the other expenses? The grain and fodder we brought, the cost of Tang Qian's five thousand men coming from Shan Yang Pass—have you calculated that? The loss suffered by Beijiang from dragging all these commoners here to burn them as slaves? Even rounding up, it's got to be... two million taels!"

Here we go again, here we go again—starting to round up.

The Wei brothers:...

Wei Ke: "Understood. So Your Highness is thinking...?"

Da Wang stood with hands on hips: "Of course, to take this silver back from the burning fields!" Da Wang eats anything, just can't stand losing out.

Wei Shen gazed at the sky, "The kid's gone mad from poverty. How many sheep would we have to sell!" In this broken place, no farming in sight—other economic activities negligible.

As for how exactly to obtain it, Da Wang sneaked out a map, looking furtive.

Wei Ke noticed this map was completely different from the one Da Wang used for marching, with different marked points.

Da Wang pointed to a spot on the Kunlun remnant range where he'd drawn a large circle: "I received intelligence—there's a Hotan jade mine here. Jade, you get it? Even if the Jin Dynasty is so poor it rings like a bell and can't sell a price, I have channels to sell beautiful jade overseas, exchanging it for silver and grain. Nobody dislikes beautiful jade, as long as the quality is good."

The Wei brothers could say nothing more—whenever silver was mentioned, Da Wang revived with full vigor, "From now on, the fields of the burning lands will be incorporated into Liangzhou, and I've already thought of the name!"

Wei Shen: "What name?"

Da Wang: "Qingyu Commandery!"

Wei Ke:... He could tell Da Wang truly wanted to make a fortune from jade.

Da Wang observed Tang Qian's speed on the map, estimated his arrival time at Dayu Valley, and decided to convene a "Qingyu Commandery General Assembly of All Commoners" upon Tang Qian's arrival.

So he sent cavalry ahead to shout to all herders on the burning lands' lands, announcing the change of ownership—gotta make them recognize their new lord!

As for Tang Qian, rushing to Longxi, he discovered Zhang Fangtong still unaware that the Golden Radiance affair had been exposed; Tang Qian directly surrounded the governor's office, bound the whole family, and sent them off to prison carts.

Zhang Fangtong was terrified silly—he never imagined Da Wang would actually go to Golden Radiance, let alone stir up a major conflict over this border town for the Zhang family, who are a prominent clan in Longxi.

"Longxi prominent clan? So what? Longxi is Your Highness's Longxi, not yours, Zhang family!"

Da Wang just loves prominent clans, and Tang Qian does too. Prominent clans are good—they mean deep foundations and family wealth.

Da Wang issued an oral decree: Zhang Fangtong guilty of death, Zhang family property confiscated.

Zhang family's underage members and female relatives, along with the confiscated family wealth, were sent in a mighty procession to Golden Radiance; adult males were bound and taken to Dayu Valley.

Tang Qian was very satisfied with the Zhang family's wealth, believing Da Wang would be too—after occupying Longxi for over a century, they'd surely amassed considerable wealth.

Only then did Zhang Fangtong realize: the Northern Border King had, in passing, wiped out the Burning Fields Qiang! The last straw that broke the camel's back fell—Zhang Fangtong knew he couldn't survive, his face turned utterly ashen.

Upon Tang Qian's arrival, Da Wang immediately convened a meeting, having them discuss who should stay behind as Commandery Commander of Qingyu Commandery—military power of Qingyu Commandery must be held by reliable insiders.

"Best if literate, somewhat alert, and steady in handling affairs; partnered with Zhang Fangtong, they must not be deceived by him."

Tang Qian exclaimed, "Your Highness isn't preparing to kill Zhang Fangtong, but still wants to use him?"

Da Wang: "Killing him in Longxi isn't feasible—why go through the trouble of dragging him to Qingyu to kill? Have I not had enough of the bloody smell?!"

Tang Qian:... Makes sense.

"Zhang Fangtong likes the Qiang people, right? I plan to leave him here to shine and manage the Qiang. I'm magnanimous—giving him a chance to redeem himself through service. That way, when you return to Shan Yang Pass, bring his female relatives and children to live in Shan Yang Commandery."

Tang Qian:... So magnanimous!

In the end, the Commandery Commander was chosen from Tang Qian's accompanying troops—a commandant named Sui Chu, who is literate and has served as commandant for nearly ten years, thus possessing considerable command experience. As for loyalty, Old Tang slapped his chest to guarantee it.

For this, Da Wang also scolded the Snow Riders and those Eagle Riders who served as his personal guards: "After this battle, their military merits aren't small—if they had even a bit of culture, I could promote them exceptionally, and no one could complain. But the result? All illiterate!" He didn't even consider their backgrounds.

The warriors who fought a hundred to one on the battlefield shrank their necks, quiet as chickens.

"When we return, during training breaks, you'll all go study characters for me!"

"... Yes!"

After the Commandery Commander was appointed, Da Wang personally went to see Zhang Fangtong.

Along this road, Zhang Fangtong had already been frightened into honesty—even the proudest aristocrat fears death.

Seeing Da Wang, he burst into tears and snot, "... Guilty minister, guilty of ten thousand deaths! Guilty minister knows his fault, begs Your Highness to spare the Zhang clan! Your Highness, when I wasn't serving as Longxi Governor, Golden Radiance was already like this—the court never said anything, I thought, I thought... Guilty minister deserves ten thousand deaths, I know my fault, beg Your Highness to spare me this once!"

Da Wang rolled his eyes inwardly, thinking, You're good at making excuses—did you follow the previous guy eating feces? Good thing he still knows to save face for Da Wang.

Da Wang didn't mention beheading, instead began forcefully recalling the past.

"... Think back when Da Wang went to Longxi—though Longxi also suffered drought, the people were stable and optimistic, and Da Wang was very satisfied with the Longxi Governor then.

When we arrived in Longxi to mark out land for a large farm, Da Wang found you honest and hardworking, conscientious, with your own ideas, adaptable—so Da Wang entrusted the large farm to you with complete peace of mind. Who could've thought you'd still commit a beheading-worthy crime! Sigh!" After saying that, Da Wang touched his own little heart, certain heaven would forgive him—this man truly isn't a good person; all the above is nonsense, not representing Da Wang's view!

Zhang Fangtong, upon hearing this praise, saw a glimmer of hope—he kowtowed to Da Wang with loud thuds, weeping and shouting for Da Wang to forgive him this once.

Da Wang gazed at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, "Not killing you—I can't face the people of Beijiang; killing you... I feel it's a bit of a pity, sigh!"

Upon hearing that, Zhang Fangtong nearly threw himself at Da Wang's legs, weeping; in a short while, his forehead was bleeding from kowtowing, and Da Wang finally spat out words before he passed out from the blows.

"What if I give you a chance to redeem yourself through service? Are you confident you can manage the Qingyu Commandery I just conquered?"

With a sudden turn of events, Zhang Fangtong was overjoyed — the expendable Wei Shen had entered the scene.

"Your Highness, you absolutely cannot do this! This matter is no trifle; Zhang Fangtong deserves death, and if he does not die, there is no way to answer to the people of Jinhui, nor how will you explain it to the court officials when you return? The Chancellor and Doctor Xie will never agree! Is this not sheer madness?!"

"In Beijiang, my word is law!"

After speaking harshly to his cousin, "Zhang Fangtong, do you dare to issue a military pledge? Do you dare to achieve something on this land that would make the court officials reluctant to kill you?"

What does Zhang Fangtong have to fear? If he doesn't die, he dares to do anything.

"Then I will vouch for you before the court officials, letting you redeem yourself through service! From now on, I formally appoint you as Acting Governor of Qingyu Commandery, and you must generate two million taels of silver in annual revenue for Beijiang!"

Zhang Fangtong's face, still flushed with the joy of escaping death, froze abruptly upon hearing the latter part.

"No, Your... Your Highness, how many taels?"

"Two million taels of silver."

Zhang Fangtong: ……

If this broken place had such potential, it would have long unified the entire Xiqian — why bother lingering here, exploiting Jinhui to scrape by?!

Can't you kill him swiftly and cleanly?