Chapter 109: Wei Wuji

Chapter 109: Wei Wuji

The old man wiped away his tears and snot, shaking his head repeatedly. “We dare not… we dare not… It’s our fault, Prince… Thank you, Prince. If you hadn’t come, all of us here would probably have become cooked meat in that bronze cauldron!”

Xiao Ce’s gaze was sharp. “Old man, it’s over now! This Prince came here to kill all these beasts!”

The old man wanted to get up and kowtow, but having lost both his legs, he simply couldn’t.

Tears welled up in the old man’s eyes. “Thank you, Prince. Is what this gentleman said true? Have the bonded people in the Northern Desert become their own masters?”

Xiao Ce nodded. “That’s right, old sir. So, you must stay strong and live on. Now that This Prince has come, your good days have arrived.”

The old man wiped the hot tears from his eyes. “Prince, I will definitely live on. I want to avenge my granddaughter… I also want to go kill those Turk dogs!”

Zhang Yunqing then asked the old man about the slaves here.

This minor tribe alone had over six thousand slaves. They were all locked up in various horse pens.

Just then, from the sacrificial altar, a young man about Xiao Jiu’s age appeared.

“P… Prince… I can call all of them over.”

Xiao Ce looked at the young man. “I will send some soldiers to go with you. Bring all the horses from this tribe, and all the food supplies! Gather them right here! This Prince will lead you away!”

The young man nodded. “As you command, Prince!”

Xiao Ce was in no hurry to ‘brainwash’ these slaves. He understood clearly.

For people like them, speeches would be useless.

Xiao Ce ordered the soldiers to strip the clothes from the dead Turks and give them to the slaves to wear, and also distributed the food they had brought for them to eat.

Though fearful, these people’s eyes lit up at the sight of food.

After all, under the Turks, they never got to eat proper food.

They ate worse than livestock.

Xiao Ce’s actions lessened the slaves’ fear a little.

Xiao Ce had the old man whose legs were cut off carried near the campfire and chatted with him.

He learned the old man was named Huang Wu, from Yanbei City.

To Xiao Ce’s surprise, this Huang Wu was once a retired veteran of the Iron-Blood Army.

However, he retired early and did not participate in the Mawei City campaign.

He wasn’t captured; he sold himself here to find his granddaughter, drifting all the way to this place.

He finally found his granddaughter, but these past days coincided with the Turks gathering troops to attack the Xiao Kingdom, with many of their main forces having already left.

They had planned to sneak away during the chaos, but, unfortunately, they were chosen for the sacrifice to the Celestial God.

During their conversation, in less than half an hour, the young man who looked about Xiao Jiu’s age returned, leading a huge crowd of slaves and horses laden with food.

However, there were many people and few horses.

According to old man Huang Wu’s explanation, their main forces of horses had been requisitioned.

Each Turkic cavalryman took eight horses as reserves! So, all the strong horses were taken, leaving only some young colts, older horses, and stud horses.

The young slave man approached and led the over five thousand slaves to kneel.

The young slave man was quite savvy. Kneeling on the ground, he kowtowed to Xiao Ce and shouted, “Hail the King of Northern Desert!”

Over five thousand slaves knelt and echoed the shout, many not even knowing what was happening.

Zhang Yunqing, standing to the side, gave another speech. Upon hearing that Xiao Ce was the King of Northern Desert, the slaves wore expressions of disbelief.

At that moment, the young slave man crawled on his knees to Xiao Ce.

“Prince, could you let me serve you? Let me join your cavalry. I also want to kill Turks!”

Xiao Ce was somewhat surprised by this young slave.

Because this young slave seemed different from the others.

There was a light in this young slave’s eyes.

“What is your name? When were you captured…”

The young slave said to Xiao Ce, “Reporting to the Prince, my name is Wei Wuji. I wasn’t captured. My mother was a slave; I grew up among the Turks…”

Listening to Wei Wuji recount his story, Xiao Ce was amazed.

Wei Wuji’s mother was originally a daughter of the Wei family from one of the Four Northern Desert Prefectures. During internal family strife, she was sold to the Turks by a human trafficker arranged by other women in the household.

His mother was a skilled embroiderer, so a chieftain’s madam kept her by her side. However, being a slave, she could not avoid being mistreated by the Turks.

Wei Wuji was the product of such abuse. Sadly, the abuse happened too many times.

Wei Wuji’s mother didn’t even know who his father was.

To raise Wei Wuji, his mother endured great humiliation. She secretly taught Wei Wuji to read and write, and instilled in him principles and a sense of loyalty to his homeland.

Two years ago, the tribe of the chieftain’s madam whom his mother served was overthrown in a power struggle.

His mother was killed, and he was seized as a slave and brought here.

Fortunately, having grown up among the Turks and being clever, he managed to survive. Recently, the Ashina Tribe of the Turkic Kingdom began conscripting troops.

His master was conscripted, leaving him without support, so he was chosen to be a sacrificial victim.

He thought he was certainly doomed, but Xiao Ce’s appearance gave him hope to live.

“Prince, my mother taught me from a young age that if one day I could escape back, I must join the army and fight against the Turks! To avenge her, and not betray her hardships in raising me under such humiliation! I beg you, give me a chance!”

Xiao Ce said to Wei Wuji, “Do you dare to kill?”

On his youthful face was absolute certainty. “Prince, I dare! I have even killed a few Turks myself!”

Seeing his somewhat proud expression, Xiao Ce said, “Good, This Prince can take you with me.”

Just then, Yan Jia approached. “Reporting to the Prince, we have seized over sixteen hundred warhorses, eight hundred of which are usable. Provisions total over one hundred thousand shi, over ten thousand taels of gold, and some jewelry. Most importantly, there are over two thousand cattle and over four thousand sheep!”

Xiao Ce was startled upon hearing this. “This place is truly rich.”

Wei Wuji clasped his hands. “Reporting to the Prince, there was originally more. When they were conscripted, they took eight thousand each of cattle and sheep.”

“To attack the Four Northern Desert Prefectures, do they need to prepare so many cattle and sheep?” Xiao Ce wondered.

Wei Wuji replied, “Reporting to the Prince, they don’t just intend to take the Four Northern Desert Prefectures; they want to conquer the entire Xiao Kingdom. So, almost every tribe has thrown in all their resources!”

Xiao Ce frowned. “Their ambition is truly vast! And their appetite is huge.”

He had expected the Turks to retaliate, but he didn’t anticipate such a fierce reaction.

From the situation in this one minor tribe, he could get a sense of the whole picture.

Then, he couldn’t help but feel worried.

Because, if they had all swarmed out, then the defenders at Yanbei City would likely face enormous pressure.

He didn’t know who was garrisoning Yanbei City now!

Nor did he know how long they could hold out!

If Yanbei City couldn’t be held, then his plans might come to nothing.