Chapter 57: Continuing the Recruitment

Chapter 57: Continuing the Recruitment

Xiao Ce walked out of the grand hall.

Yan Jia was ordering people to search every separate Temporary Palace.

Many maids and servants were also tied up.

Chests of Gold, Silver, and treasures were being carried out.

When Yan Jia saw Xiao Ce come out, he came over to report.

“Prince, we have searched all the living quarters in the Temporary Palace. Shopkeeper Qian Lai is having the Gold and Silver treasures counted.”

Xiao Ce nodded.

“What about the soldiers who surrendered here?”

Yan Jia said, “They are being made to handle those corpses.”

Xiao Ce nodded and said, “Have them all come over and line up here!”

Yan Jia nodded.

Yan Jia then gave the order.

At that moment, a soldier came jogging over.

“Prince, there is a man named Kan Zongye at the Temporary Palace who requests to see you!”

Xiao Ce listened and nodded with satisfaction.

Wearing an expression that everything was under control, he said to the soldier who had come, “No! What do they take This Prince for? This Prince gave them a chance earlier, and they were all acting high and mighty, weren’t they? Chances are not always available!”

The soldier cupped his hands and was about to retreat.

Seeing the soldier hadn’t gone far, Xiao Ce suddenly thought of something.

“Wait!”

The soldier looked at Xiao Ce, puzzled.

“Prince, are there any other orders?”

Xiao Ce said to the soldier, “Take him from inside to the outside, then make him wait outside. After half an hour, let him in!”

The soldier listened, looking confused, but still nodded.

…

Just then, Qian Lai stepped forward and said to Xiao Ce, “Prince, a total of eight million taels of Silver, one million taels of Gold, and countless jewelry, gems, and assorted treasures have been confiscated here. They are still being counted!”

“However, from what I know, Bao An shouldn’t only have this much money. He must have other places.”

Hearing Qian Lai’s words, Xiao Ce’s expression immediately became much more lively!

“Hahaha, I think I understand now! What’s that saying about Heshen falling and Jiaqing eating his fill? Good! Good! Good! Our military funds are securely on their way, aren’t they?”

Qian Lai listened to Xiao Ce’s seemingly random comment and asked, puzzled, “Heshen? Jiaqing? Prince, who are these two people?”

Xiao Ce smiled and said, “Not important, not important!”

He was in a very good mood. Everything was going pretty much as he imagined.

The poverty of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures was entirely because of these leeches.

One Bao An alone was immensely rich.

These local rulers probably each had more money than the national treasury.

Not to mention the Turkic Kingdom, which had been plundering this area for so many years.

As he thought this, Xiao Ce’s gaze grew somewhat wilder.

The killing intent in his eyes deepened a bit more.

“Turks, This Prince has arrived. You just wait and see. I will definitely make you spit it out a hundredfold, a thousandfold!”

As he spoke, Xiao Ce saw Yan Jia leading over three thousand people in neat rows.

“Your humble servant, Sun Qiang, pays respects to the Prince!”

“Your humble servant, Zhao Long, pays respects to the Prince!”

“Your humble servant, Huang Shan, pays respects to the Prince!”

“Your humble servant, Guan Sheng, pays respects to the Prince!”

“Your humble servant, Jiang Xing, pays respects to the Prince!”

Six tall, imposing men from the front of these troops stepped forward, knelt on one knee, cupped their fists, and saluted Xiao Ce with a military salute.

He recognized the leader, Sun Qiang, who previously served as a Military Advisor under Cai Wu.

Yan Jia stepped forward and introduced them. “Prince, capturing Lingxiao City this time was largely thanks to the help of these Generals. Although their military ranks are not high, I have spoken with them. They are all patriots. They only endured humiliation and worked under Bao An to survive!”

Xiao Ce listened and nodded, looking deeply moved as he said to them, “At ease… at ease. You have suffered injustice!”

“You have done This Prince a great favor! You also saved your brothers. In This Prince’s capture of Lingxiao City, you deserve the greatest credit! Rise… rise…”

After stepping forward, Xiao Ce, with a very approachable expression, helped them all up.

Zhao Long said to Xiao Ce, “Prince, will you really attack the Turkic Kingdom in the future? Can we really kill Turks?”

Xiao Ce nodded and said, “Yes, of course we can kill Turks! What a sorry state has that traitor Bao An brought the Four Northern Desert Prefectures to? The people live in misery!”

“Rest assured, This Prince is here today! Your good days have arrived. The Turks have stolen everything from us. This Prince will surely go and take it all back, piece by piece!”

“This Prince doesn’t like empty talk. This Prince even more dislikes making empty promises! This Prince prefers actual results!”

As he spoke, Xiao Ce said to Yan Jia, “Yan Jia, what did you promise them?”

Yan Jia then said, “Reporting to the Prince, by joining our Northern Desert Army, ordinary soldiers get five taels of Silver per month, squad leaders get ten taels…”

Yan Jia repeated the terms he kept mentioning.

Xiao Ce nodded and said, “Good! Everyone, line up! Go receive your first Military Pay for joining the Northern Desert Army! And the bonus This Prince promised you!”

“King of Northern Desert! Long Live! Long Live!”

The soldiers behind him all cheered excitedly.

Xiao Ce said to Qian Lai, “Qian Lai, have all your firm’s people been brought over?”

Qian Lai nodded and said, “All the accountants, as per the Prince’s instructions, have been called over.”

Xiao Ce nodded with satisfaction, then turned to Sun Qiang and the others.

He walked to one side and motioned for them to follow.

The six of them followed.

Xiao Ce said to Sun Qiang, “Sun Qiang, can This Prince trust you people?”

Sun Qiang nodded and said, “Reporting to the Prince, although we were under Bao An! We had no other choice. Many of our families are still held as slaves in the Turkic Kingdom. We think of them day and night and want to rescue them!”

“That’s right, Prince, as long as you can attack the Turks! We would do it even without pay!”

…

The remaining men chimed in one after another: “Prince! We swear with our lives, if you lead us to fight the Turks, we will give our lives to you! We don’t even need Military Pay!”

Xiao Ce nodded and said, “The Turks will indeed be fought… and This Prince will also pay your Military Pay! However, to resist foreign aggression, we must first secure our internal affairs… As you all know, there are many problems within the Four Northern Desert Prefectures!”

“Do you have many fellow townsmen or trusted comrades-in-arms you know well within the various cities?”

They all nodded.

Xiao Ce nodded and said, “Good! This Prince gives you a task! Go select people you absolutely trust! Then go to the various cities to persuade those men. Tell them This Prince has arrived. Get them to join This Prince’s Northern Desert Army!”

“As long as they agree to join and pledge allegiance to This Prince! Their reward will be the same as yours!”

After hearing this, the men cupped their fists and said, “We obey, Prince! However, General Bao An only controlled nine cities. The remaining thirty cities are controlled by the private soldiers of various Noble Clans!”