Chapter 561: New Pancake

The Great King specially made a trip to the West Major Camp to mobilize the northern relocation; when it comes to drawing pancakes, the Marquis of the Eastern Capital cannot match his back.

Earlier, Tang Qian replied in a letter saying that this time, taking advantage of the opportunity to go south, it was the Hunye and Xiutu tribes of the Xiongnu in the southern desert region; these two tribes had been swept clean by the court giving tribute to the Northern Border, and they had long been dissatisfied; in their years of experience, this move was utterly contrary to the natural order.

The southern desert had never directly clashed with the Great King's Black Armor Cavalry; upon hearing that the main force cavalry had gone south for civil war, the two tribes were restless and finally reached out.

These people were obviously also making two-handed preparations; in the skirmish, after one encounter they gained no advantage, knowing the Northern Border was not completely empty and still had the main force cavalry, the Xiutu tribe immediately turned and fled; the Hunye lone army also lacked confidence to attack the prosperous city and began to lose the will to fight. Tang Qian brought few people; he came lightly equipped and simple cavalry, drove the two tribes back to the grassland, then retreated to Wuyi Commandery.

The Great King personally wrote an order, solemnly affixed the great seal, and ordered these seventy thousand people to go to Wuyi Commandery to await Inspector Tang Qian of Liangzhou arranging their garrison farming, and also to re‑allocate silver from the money shops of Anding Commandery and River East Commandery to Wuyi.

The Great King attached great importance to this matter; he arranged for Chang Li to personally make a trip and send these people to Wuyi.

West Major Camp

Zhou Erhu's ancestral home was west of the pass; he is only fourteen this year and has been in the army for two years. He originally belonged to the West Major Camp, filling the vacancy left by his father Zhou Zhu; his elder brother had died early and his father had broken his leg, so this thin, scrawny bean sprout of his stepped up. His small stature is absolutely not his main shortcoming; he is also timid, which in the army is deadly.

Usually he was in the Baggage Camp, but he inevitably saw bloody scenes. Baili Jun's capture of Chang'an, although like a coup, the West Major Camp also lost many people; he followed the aftermath to clean the battlefield once and lost half his life.

At fourteen he was still shorter than the Great King, thin and weak like a little child just over ten; Liang He immediately eliminated him. Good grief, he's still a kid playing with mud.

When the Great King announced the garrison‑farming plan, everyone else was worried, but he was gleeful.

Sitting in the cool shade learning to weave straw sandals from the old soldiers, he grinned while he worked; the old soldier Ding Si watching him found it funny and said, 'What are you happy about, Little Erhu? With your puny frame, can you even plow the wasteland?'

"If I can't plow, it's still better than fighting here; fight one more battle and our line will be cut off!"

"... You little coward, sigh..."

"Uncle Ding, don't you want to retire and go garrison‑farm? Not fighting would be great—afterwards we wouldn't have to die; even if garrison‑farming is tiring, can it tire you to death? Besides, Uncle Ding, with two fingers missing you could get an extra ten taels of silver—that's ten taels! I've never seen a whole ingot of silver in my life."

"Where in the world is there such a good thing… you say the King of the Northern Border really can give? With so many of us, that's no small number—ten taels each—I can't even count the excess."

"Zhou Erhu stared dumbfounded: 'Can the King of the Northern Border default on the debt?!'"

"Who knows? Besides, the King of the Northern Border said ten taels, but by the time it reaches our hands through layers…… getting five taels would already be conscientious of them."

"Zhou Erhu hearing this also became listless. Yeah, waiting to go to the Northern Border to see if it really reaches their hands? Who knows what the Northern Border is like…"

"The Great King, who had finished drawing his pancakes in the morning and hadn't left yet, couldn't bear to listen any longer; he suddenly jumped out and said, 'It's really given!'"

"The seventy‑thousand‑person big camp, relying on little bees, only a small part couldn't hear the Great King's words clearly; most couldn't see his face; everything was passed down later level by level from above."

"Ding Si saw he was dressed well, so he didn't think the person who could get in here was a bad guy; he guessed he had some background. He stood up, very wary, and asked: 'May I ask, sir, are you lost?'"

"The Great King began to weave: 'No. I am the younger brother of Commander Chang, who is sending you to Wuyi this time; I heard you don't believe the King of the Northern Border really gives the discharge fee, so I couldn't help coming out.'"

"Rest assured, the King of the Northern Border says what he means; I heard my elder brother say the silver has already been transferred from River East to Wuyi. The Northern Border has good order and strict laws—your silver is yours, no one dares to embezzle. If you're short one tael, just go find my elder brother… Rest assured going to garrison‑farm! If your family is right in Chang'an, you can bring them along—this route, with many people, is still safe."

"Zhou Erhu didn't have all those twists and turns; hearing this he became happy. 'Really giving ten taels—great!'"

"The Great King blinked, looking sincere: 'Rest assured, if the amount isn't enough just go find Commander Chang—he's the Northern Border King's confidant, you know~'"

"After saying that he also took out two newly received newspapers from his pocket and stuffed them into the person's hands: 'Go ahead with peace of mind—look, the newspapers say this year's Northern Border autumn harvest is expected to increase greatly compared to last year, because more wasteland has been reclaimed. The Northern Border has several high‑yield grains, corn as well as potatoes and sweet potatoes; as long as you're willing to work, you'll eat your fill there, much better than going south. If you don't go garrison‑farm in the Northern Border, even if those seeds are good you can't afford them!'"

"……Those listening had stars in their eyes."

"The Great King patted his buttocks and left; the two soldiers hiding in the cool shade felt their hearts burning hot—this day is really hot~"