Chapter 48: The Miserable State of Northern Desert

Chapter 48: The Miserable State of Northern Desert

Da Lei nodded and walked briskly to Cai Wu’s side without any hesitation.

“You… you dare… I am the eldest grandson of the Cai family! Wwah…”

Da Lei’s expression remained unchanged, paying no attention to Cai Wu.

He pinned Cai Wu beneath him with one foot, his hand moving like a blur as he pulled out a dagger.

Then, he gripped Cai Wu’s mouth.

He pried the dagger into his mouth.

He stirred inside it very neatly, then skillfully pulled out a tongue.

He threw it in front of Cai Wu.

In an instant, fresh red blood gushed from Cai Wu’s mouth like a spring.

…

Everyone present saw it very clearly.

The entire place was extremely quiet.

Everyone was deeply shocked in their hearts.

They all knew who Cai Wu was…

They knew even more clearly.

If Cai Wu’s tongue was cut out, there was no chance he could survive!

Xiao Ce faced everyone and said sternly, “This Prince has always been clear about rewards and punishments! Those who submit prosper; those who resist perish!”

“This Prince is the King of Northern Desert, personally appointed by His Majesty! There is only one king in Northern Desert, and that is me! Northern Desert can only belong to the Xiao family!”

“No matter who it is! Anyone in Northern Desert who opposes This Prince will face only one consequence! That is death!”

After speaking, Xiao Ce looked at Cai Wu on the ground, who was clutching his throat and still vomiting blood, and said, “Da Lei, cut off this traitorous general’s head for This Prince and display it to the entire army! This is the consequence of betraying This Prince.”

Da Lei nodded, very swiftly drew the large sword from his waist, and with a swing of his hand, the sword fell.

With a thud, the head rolled on the ground like a watermelon.

Da Lei took a long spear from a soldier nearby and directly stabbed it through the head.

He then held up Cai Wu’s head and waved it in front of the surrendering garrison troops.

Xiao Ce observed the expressions of these garrison soldiers.

He knew that his demonstration of authority was almost complete, and it was time to give them some rewards!

“This Prince knows that this matter has nothing to do with you. You all stopped in time and did not do anything excessive.”

“Now, This Prince will incorporate you into This Prince’s Northern Desert Army. Are you willing?”

None of the garrison soldiers spoke up. They looked at each other, but no one said a word.

Although Xiao Ce’s methods were tough and he had killed one Cai Wu,

they clearly knew that the Four Northern Desert Prefectures were truly Bao An’s territory.

Xiao Ce was like the previous provincial governors who came to serve in the Four Northern Desert Prefectures. When they first took office, they all wanted to make a strong impression.

But after just a few days of conflict with Bao An, their outcomes were extremely miserable.

Xiao Ce noticed that aside from Wang Quan and those with him who agreed, only a few others responded!

“This Prince gives you one night to think it over! After tonight, even if you want to join This Prince’s Northern Desert Army, you won’t have the chance! Those willing to join This Prince’s Northern Desert Army will enjoy the same treatment. Each person receives five taels of silver per month!”

People are practical.

After these words were spoken, many soldiers eagerly asked whether it was really five taels of silver per month.

Xiao Ce nodded. “Correct! Five taels of silver per month! After registration, you can receive the money immediately! However, joining This Prince’s Northern Desert Army means abiding by its rules! You will be given the detailed regulations of the Northern Desert Army later. As long as you can meet all the requirements and pass the assessments, you can also receive bonuses. If you work hard and pass the military assessments, earning over ten taels of silver per month in military pay is not a problem.”

As soon as Xiao Ce said this, the crowd instantly erupted in excitement.

They knew that serving in the Bao Family Army, they received one tael of silver per month as military pay, which was already a lot for them.

Now, according to Xiao Ce, working for one month could equal a year’s military pay in the Bao Family Army.

Only a fool would refuse.

Even if Xiao Ce couldn’t last long, they would at least get five taels of silver.

This training performance bonus was Xiao Ce’s idea and had been tested with the cavalry unit led by Yan Jia.

The results were very good, greatly boosting their motivation for training.

“Prince, I’ll do it! I’ll join!”

“Prince, I’ll do it too! I’ll join too!”

…

Xiao Ce watched as the crowd grew excited and nodded with a smile, turning to Shen Bao. “Shen Bao, you and Wang Quan go and register them.”

Shen Bao nodded and took some men to handle the new recruits.

Yan Jia then walked up to Xiao Ce’s side.

Xiao Ce could tell he wanted to say something.

“Yan Jia, do you think these people are not worth recruiting?”

Seeing that Xiao Ce had guessed his thoughts, Yan Jia nodded. “Prince, it seems you already know? You should know these people are seasoned soldiers and opportunists.”

“Have you heard the saying? ‘A train runs fast only when the engine leads!'”

Yan Jia looked puzzled. “Train?”

Xiao Ce suddenly realized the metaphor was very inappropriate for this era, as trains didn’t exist yet.

Xiao Ce changed his words. “That is to say, there are no cowardly soldiers, only cowardly commanders. As long as the commanders are good, they will naturally lead a fierce army.”

“Moreover, these people are the elite of the Bao Family Army. Having stayed in the Four Northern Desert Prefectures for so long, they must have many connections. Once this news spreads,”

“more and more people will naturally come to join us. When that happens, Bao An’s army will collapse without a fight.”

Yan Jia’s eyes lit up a little after hearing this. “Prince, you are wise indeed.”

Xiao Ce waved his hand. “This is just the beginning… Alright! Let’s enter the pass!”

Everything went much more smoothly than Xiao Ce had imagined.

Xiao Ce had actually thought about the desolation of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures, but from the moment he entered the pass, it still exceeded his expectations.

After entering the pass, they were connected to a city.

The city was filled with small huts built of yellow mud, and there were hardly any people visible in the entire city.

Aside from the garrison soldiers, the entire city seemed unusually desolate.

Xiao Ce called for Wang Quan.

Wang Quan came over and bowed to Xiao Ce.

“Greetings, Prince! What are your orders?”

Xiao Ce looked around and said, “This is supposed to be the first city inside the pass of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures. Where are the people? Why isn’t there a single person?”

“Reporting to the Prince, the commoners have either died or been captured! Precisely because this is the first city inside the pass, it has had a permanent garrison for years.”

“Whenever the garrison troops arrive, they come to plunder the commoners. The commoners couldn’t bear it and have all fled! Moreover, after years of Bao An’s tyranny in the Four Northern Desert Prefectures, barely one in ten remains. The entire Four Northern Desert Prefectures now consists either of soldiers or slaves! There are no commoners left!”

“What do you mean? No commoners?”

Wang Quan nodded. “Reporting to the Prince, to please the Turks, Bao An constantly captures commoners from the Four Northern Desert Prefectures to serve as slaves for the Turks.”

“The Turks can’t bear to use their horses for transport, so they make the captured slaves do work that even animals wouldn’t do. They don’t treat our Northern Desert people as humans, feeding them very little food, even horse dung… They call our Northern Desert people ‘two-legged mules.’ After those people die, the Turks go to Bao An to demand more. Bao An just captures more.”

“Over time, barely one in ten commoners remains. The remaining commoners are enslaved by the noble clans and prominent families, exploited by the noble clans to farm and produce for them. At its peak, the vast Four Northern Desert Prefectures had over a million people! Now, only fewer than a hundred thousand commoners are officially registered, and these hundred thousand have all been divided up as slaves by the Four Great Clans and the local prominent families attached to them!”

Before coming, Xiao Ce had heard from Nie Bing about the miserable state of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures.

He had thought the people here were suffering, but he never imagined it was this bad.

“This Bao An, not even ten thousand deaths could atone for his crimes! He is worse than an animal!” Xiao Ce said with a grim face.

Yin Pan’er, standing nearby, also looked very upset.

“Why hasn’t there been any news at all from the Capital?”

“Bao An’s sister is His Majesty’s favorite consort, and their connections in the Capital are complicated. Moreover, Bao An is utterly mad. He tattoos the character for ‘Northern Desert’ on the faces of Northern Desert people. Bao An has an agreement with the city lords of several cities inside the pass. Whenever they see someone with such a tattoo inside the pass, they are to be killed without question! Because there is a specific law in Northern Desert: Northern Desert people are not allowed to leave Yanmen Pass!”

Just hearing this made Xiao Ce very angry.

“Then why don’t you soldiers resist? Don’t you soldiers have tattoos?”

Wang Quan’s expression turned bitter. “As long as we serve in the Bao Family Army, we don’t need tattoos. But once we leave, we must be tattooed on the face! And we simply cannot resist, because our wives and children are in the hands of the noble clans.”

“Bao An is in cahoots with those noble clans… If we disobey, our families will be killed. As for us, the reason we dare to resist is only because our families were captured by the Turks… We have nothing to lose!”

Xiao Ce looked at Wang Quan and asked, “Do you have a wife and children?”

A look of pain flashed across Wang Quan’s resolute face.

“I have a wife, two sons, and a daughter. But they were all captured by the Turks last year! They are probably…”

Wang Quan’s face was full of pain and conflict.

Xiao Ce patted Wang Quan’s shoulder. “This Prince will lead you to make the Turks pay back a hundredfold, a thousandfold, for the suffering they caused you!”

Wang Quan knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily to Xiao Ce. “Prince, we are not in a hurry! We just hope you can take care of yourself!”

Xiao Ce said to Wang Quan, “What? Do you think I am not their match?”

Wang Quan shook his head. “Prince, that’s not it! But you should not underestimate them either…”

Xiao Ce smiled confidently at Wang Quan. “You should not underestimate This Prince either! Behind This Prince, there are three hundred thousand commoners coming, and almost a hundred thousand troops! What do they have to fight This Prince?”

Xiao Ce then turned to Yan Jia. “Yan Jia, have our cavalry rest well. Tomorrow is that scoundrel Bao An’s wedding day. This Prince cannot miss it!”