Chapter 58: Now This is the Kind of Life That Makes Transmigration Worthwhile

Chapter 58: Now This is the Kind of Life That Makes Transmigration Worthwhile

Sun Qiang nodded and promptly produced a map.

He unfurled it immediately and began explaining things to Xiao Ce.

Seeing the map, Xiao Ce moved closer, his face full of curiosity.

Sun Qiang pointed at various spots on the map.

Xiao Ce gained a much clearer understanding of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures and their thirty-nine cities.

Among the thirty-nine cities in the Northern Desert, Bao An currently controlled nine cities, a contiguous stretch from Yanmen City to Lingxiao City.

These nine cities had always been under the control of the court-appointed Provincial Governors.

After Nie Yao was killed, although a Provincial Governor was appointed, he was just a puppet selected by the Four Great Clans.

Bao An then took over the nine cities, but their garrison forces only numbered a few hundred each.

His main military strength was still stationed in Yanbei City, which bordered the Turkic Kingdom.

Ten thousand troops were garrisoned there.

The stretch from Lingxiao City to Yanbei City was divided among the four Noble Clans. Each clan had at least fifty thousand private soldiers, adding up to at least two hundred thousand in total!!

Hearing this, Xiao Ce said, “What! That many? And they still let the Turks push them around like this?”

Sun Qiang clasped his hands and said, “It’s precisely because everyone only minds their own business. So, Prince, at most we can only win over the people of the nine cities! And the garrison troops in Yanbei City. As for the territory of those Noble Clans, their private soldiers have been raised by them for generations; their loyalty is bone-deep!”

Looking at the map, Xiao Ce said, “Alright, having these nine cities is enough. With them there, if the Turks want to attack me, they must go through them first. This way, those Noble Clans will have to fight whether they want to or not! You all go now, each of you take some money from over there.”

“You will set off tonight. Tomorrow, I will order troops to depart from Yanmen City! Then go and take over these nine cities!”

“This Prince was a bit worried at first! But now it seems, This Prince’s worries were unnecessary! Lingxiao City is located at the strategic throat of these nine cities. As long as we hold Lingxiao City, the nine cities behind it will surely be safe!”

After speaking, Xiao Ce said to Yan Jia, “Tell Shen Hu and Shen Bao to bring the main army here. Also, have Yin Pan’er and Nie Bing come over.”

Yan Jia clasped his hands in acknowledgment.

Sun Qiang, standing to one side, listened to Xiao Ce’s words and asked somewhat excitedly, “Prince, is the Miss Nie Bing you mentioned the daughter of Provincial Governor Nie Yao?”

Xiao Ce nodded and looked at Sun Qiang. “What? Do you know her?”

Sun Qiang nodded very excitedly. “Of course! Provincial Governor Nie Yao was our benefactor. It’s a pity he was framed by villains, leading to the slaughter of his entire family… I had long heard that his only daughter survived! But there was never any news.”

“Prince, if you wish to recruit talent in the Northern Desert, you could have Miss Nie Bing make an appearance. Provincial Governor Nie Yao still held great prestige throughout the Four Northern Desert Prefectures.”

Xiao Ce listened and nodded with a smile.

He indeed needed a group of talented people to help him manage this place.

Calculating the time, it wouldn’t be more than half a month before all those Disaster Victims arrived.

With nine cities, he had enough to settle these Disaster Victims.

…

After giving orders to these six men, he looked around at his people busily working.

He himself had instead become the idlest person.

Glancing around, he saw not far away a very sharp child who had served him at the Qian Clan Trading House.

This child was craning his neck, watching the accountants keep records.

Xiao Ce thought to himself that he really was lacking a personal servant.

Although Da Lei followed Xiao Ce closely, Da Lei was a specially trained Death Warrior with no emotions, which was really quite boring.

Furthermore, some tasks were not convenient for him to do.

Xiao Ce had been looking for a suitable candidate along the way but hadn’t found anyone suitable.

When he first saw this clever child, he had taken a liking to him.

With that, Xiao Ce beckoned to the child.

“Kid, come here!”

Seeing Xiao Ce’s summons, the child walked up very respectfully.

Upon reaching Xiao Ce, he knelt down with a thud. “Prince, what are your orders?”

Xiao Ce waved his hand, indicating for the child to rise.

“What’s your name, kid?”

The child bowed respectfully. “Reporting to the Prince, this lowly one is called Xiao Jiu.”

“Xiao Jiu? What kind of name is that?” Xiao Ce asked, puzzled.

Xiao Jiu bowed. “I was the ninth child in my family. We are Bonded People and have no names! Unless our master bestows one. This name Xiao Jiu was given to me by the former manager of the trading house.”

Xiao Ce nodded. Nine returning to one, it wasn’t a bad name after all.

“Xiao Jiu, I am in need of a personal attendant. Are you willing to follow This Prince?”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Jiu looked at Xiao Ce, his whole being excited. “Prince, is that possible? This lowly one… this lowly one is afraid he won’t do well…”

Xiao Ce stepped forward and patted Xiao Jiu’s head. “If This Prince says you can, then you can! First, go find me a place to stay.”

Xiao Jiu, being very clever, nodded repeatedly.

Xiao Ce was indeed tired; he needed to get some sleep first.

…

Meanwhile, Kan Zongye had walked out of that hall and saw soldiers and horses coming and going throughout the entire Temporary Palace.

He waited for quite a while but still didn’t see Xiao Ce arrive.

He coldly asked a general beside him, “Why hasn’t the Prince come yet? Go and hurry him up again!”

Kan Zongye was a person of significant standing throughout the Four Northern Desert Prefectures.

When had he ever been treated with such neglect?

The leading general looked up at the sky. According to the time Xiao Ce mentioned, it was about right.

“The Prince said he won’t see you. He gave you a chance earlier, but you pretended to be superior and ignored him! Now he doesn’t want to give you another chance!”

Hearing the general’s words, Kan Zongye’s face fluctuated between pale and red.

“If he’s not seeing me, why did you make me wait here uselessly for half an hour!”

The general glanced at Kan Zongye and said, “What? Is that not allowed?”

Kan Zongye, his face livid, pointed at the general. “How dare you! Are you making a fool of me?”

Seeing this, the general didn’t waste a single word. He directly drew his sword and said to Kan Zongye, “That’s right, so what if I am making a fool of you? The Prince said, if you dare make any suspicious move, you will be executed without mercy!”

Kan Zongye looked at this general, whose face was full of a bandit’s fierceness, and was intimidated.

This man was one of the veteran Death Row Prisoners from the original three thousand, now appointed as a Centurion.

“Put away your usual act. Know your place. They say a fallen phoenix is not as good as a chicken, and you’re not even a phoenix! Either get inside quickly now! If you don’t obey, I’ll cut you down! Get in!”

Kan Zongye was berated by this Centurion, his face changing colors, but in the end, he still slunk inside.

After Kan Zongye chose to go in,

the Centurion even sent men to escort him. After seeing Kan Zongye inside, they said very respectfully, “Master Kan, you’ve had a hard journey!”

The others who had been waiting inside the hall all stood up.

Seeing Kan Zongye return, Bao An quickly asked, “How did it go?”

Kan Zongye shook his head. “I didn’t even see Xiao Ce! They were making a fool of me. They made me wait outside for half an hour for nothing.”

Before Bao An could speak, the head of the Cai Family, who was nearby, looked at Kan Zongye suspiciously and said, “Head Kan, did you truly not see him? Or did you see him but find it inconvenient to say?”

Kan Zongye frowned. “Cai Tianming, what do you mean?”

The Cai Family and the Kan Family had never gotten along well.

Cai Family Head Cai Tianming said, “What do I mean? What kind of person are you, Kan Zongye? Are you that foolish? If you hadn’t seen that good-for-nothing Xiao Ce, would you have stupidly waited outside for half an hour? You probably met that waste Xiao Ce and reached some agreement with him.”

Kan Zongye glared angrily and recounted what had just happened. “I was tricked by that waste too?”

Cai Tianming snorted coldly. “You said the guards outside wanted to kill you!”

Kan Zongye frowned slightly. “That’s right!”

Cai Tianming continued, “Then who was it that respectfully escorted you in just now?”

Kan Zongye hadn’t caught on at first, but now, hearing Cai Tianming’s words, he suddenly understood.

“Are you a pig-brain? Can’t you see such an obvious, low-level trick to sow discord? If I really had connections with Xiao Ce, would Xiao Ce openly escort me in like that? Don’t you have any brains?”

Cai Tianming wanted to speak again but was stopped by several other Noble Clan heads nearby.

“Head Kan is right. We should unite now.”

Cai Tianming said, “What’s the use of uniting now? We’re trapped here by them… can’t get out, can’t get in… only waiting to die. Tell me, what should we do?”

Kan Zongye nodded. “Exactly, and Xiao Ce’s attitude is very tough. We must prepare for the worst!”

Lin Family Head Lin Shou listened and frowned slightly. “Would he dare to kill us?”

Kan Zongye nodded. “It’s not impossible!”

Hearing this, Cai Tianming jumped up in a rage, cursing. “He wouldn’t dare!”

“We’d be better off using this time to think of a solution.”

Kan Zongye ignored them anymore. Instead, he sat in his own seat, closed his eyes, and began to think.

…

Xiao Ce toured around Bao An’s Temporary Palace, found a place he liked, and settled in.

After lying down for a bit, he thought to himself that the night was long.

He really felt a bit too restless to sleep. He also thought of the maids who had been taken out earlier.

Xiao Ce thought, since he was idle anyway,

he might as well go find some amusement.

He had Xiao Jiu go and summon all those maids from earlier.

These maids were brought outside. For safety’s sake, Xiao Ce had them all remove their outer garments.

Then, over ninety maids walked in, their skin pale and exposed.

None of these maids had tattoos on their faces, and they were all of very well-proportioned height.

Each one was a beauty.

Clearly, these maids had been carefully selected.

Watching them standing there shyly, some with proud and ample figures that couldn’t be hidden!

Xiao Ce smiled and murmured to himself, “Now this is the kind of life that makes transmigration worthwhile?”

Then, Xiao Ce said to Xiao Jiu, “Xiao Jiu, go get This Prince a chair!”

Xiao Jiu nodded and soon brought over an Official’s Armchair.

After sitting down, Xiao Ce said to these naked maids, “Each of you, introduce yourselves! State your strengths, your weaknesses! Also, what you did before and who you have served!”