Chapter 68: The Turks Replied

Chapter 68: The Turks Replied

After Nie Bing finished speaking, she wiped her sword on Bao An’s body and sheathed it.

She then scanned the people in the entire hall and said to Xiao Ce, “My task is done. Do you have anything else to handle?”

Xiao Ce knew Nie Bing was hiding something.

Looking at her, it was clear she knew the person who truly caused the Nie family’s deaths was someone else.

However, she was in such a hurry to kill Bao An precisely so he wouldn’t reveal this secret.

Xiao Ce shook his head and said, “This Prince came to avenge you and to comfort the spirit of Provincial Governor Nie in heaven. Now that it’s done, we can leave.”

At that moment, some bolder heads of the prominent families stepped forward.

“Crown Prince, might we know when we can leave?”

Xiao Ce looked the family head up and down, snorted coldly, and said, “This Prince gave you a chance and didn’t hold you responsible. But you didn’t take it. Now you want to leave? It’s not that easy!”

As he spoke, he glanced around the hall, his eyes finally meeting Kan Zongye’s. He gave Kan Zongye a slight nod.

Kan Zongye was confused by Xiao Ce’s action, but he didn’t dare say anything on the spot because he wasn’t sure whether Xiao Ce was genuinely showing goodwill or simply trying to sow discord.

If he explained right then and angered Xiao Ce, no one knew what Xiao Ce might do.

After all, from the beginning until now, every step Xiao Ce took was beyond their expectations.

He especially didn’t expect Xiao Ce to be so crazy as to let Nie Bing kill Bao An right in front of everyone.

He dared to have Bao An killed in public.

Either he didn’t want them to live, since only the dead keep silent forever.

Or he was confident enough to make them afraid to speak of this matter.

Whichever possibility it was, it sent a chill down his spine.

He waited until Xiao Ce had gone far away.

Kan Zongye saw the people in the hall looking at him warily.

He then said to them, “Don’t look at me like that. Can’t you see this is obvious sowing of discord? If I really had some understanding with Xiao Ce, do you think he would let you see it so clearly?”

Cai Tianming said from the side, “Hmph… what’s true, what’s false, who can say for sure?”

Kan Zongye frowned deeply. “Cai Tianming, don’t be so sarcastic. We all saw Xiao Ce’s attitude. If we don’t unite now, we’ll be next to die! He even dared to kill Bao An, let alone us!”

Lin Shou spoke up. “Family Head Kan is right. We should unite now. With Bao An dead, we don’t need to pretend anymore… We can discuss together what to do next. Xiao Ce is just trying to secure his position here. Actually, for us, whether it’s Bao An or Xiao Ce makes no difference!”

Liu Xuan snorted beside them. “Do you really think Xiao Ce and Bao An are the same kind of person?”

“Whatever the case, getting out of this dreadful place is the top priority!”

At that moment, Mosi Ashina, who had been curled up in a corner looking pale, stepped forward.

“Everyone, if you leave, you must take me with you! If you want to deal with this person, you will definitely need the help of us Turks!”

Everyone looked at Mosi Ashina and nodded. “Khan’s Son, of course, we will certainly do our best!”

…

Back at the Ashina Tribe.

Ashina and a group of his princes were dining.

After the Message Crow Emissary received the letter, he hurried into a yurt.

After performing a chest-touching salute, he said,

“Khan, a message crow from the Northern Desert!”

Ashina saw this and said, “A message crow is just a message crow. What’s the hurry?”

The Message Crow Emissary held up a finger and said, “This finger came with the message crow. The ring on it looks like Eldest Prince Mosi’s.”

Ashina jumped up upon hearing this and stepped forward, immediately seeing the finger and the ring on it.

He took the letter, opened it, and glanced at it.

His face darkened to the extreme.

“Damned Great Xiao people! Ah! How dare they capture my prince and hurt him! Ah!!!!”

Ashina angrily kicked over the brazier beside him.

“Father Khan, what happened?”

“Father Khan, what happened to Elder Brother? Are the Xiao Kingdom People playing tricks again?”

Several princes in the yurt asked one after another.

After Ashina handed them the letter to read,

The princes became furious one by one. “Father Khan, these Xiao Kingdom People have the guts of a bear and a leopard, daring to threaten us! Your son is willing to lead ten thousand troops to sweep through the Northern Desert and teach these Xiao Kingdom People a lesson!”

“Father Khan, I am willing too! They dare to extort us; I promise to rescue Elder Brother and make them pay us another million taels of gold!”

Looking at his sons vying to go to war, Ashina nodded with satisfaction.

“Good, you truly are this Khan’s sons, all of you are warriors. However, we need to know what happened in the Northern Desert of the Xiao Kingdom. This letter isn’t sent by Bao An! It’s from someone calling himself ‘This Prince’? Is there any prince in the Northern Desert?”

One prince clasped his hands and said, “Father Khan, didn’t that dog Bao An mention it when he came? He said their Xiao Kingdom’s deposed Crown Prince was exiled to the Four Northern Desert Prefectures as a prince! Could it be that good-for-nothing?”

Ashina frowned slightly. “Isn’t he just a good-for-nothing? He only brought three thousand death row prisoners, so how could he be a match for Bao An! It probably isn’t him!”

The prince then asked, “Then what does Father Khan decide now?”

Ashina pondered for a moment and said, “Regardless of the situation, what is sure now is that those Xiao Kingdom People captured Mosi, taking advantage of Bao An’s wedding day. That ring is Mosi’s, and the message crow is Bao An’s! First, we must stabilize them and not let them hurt Mosi further. Pretend to agree to their conditions!”

“Also, this Khan will send someone to contact our spies within the Four Northern Desert Prefectures to investigate the truth of the matter! Each of you return to muster your troops and contact the various tribes, have them join forces with us! No matter what the situation is, we need to go on a killing spree in the Xiao Kingdom, to let them know the consequences of threatening us!”

After hearing this, all the princes clasped their hands in agreement and went off to attend to their tasks.

…

After Xiao Ce led Nie Bing out of the Rites Hall, he had her go find Fei Du herself.

Xiao Ce originally wanted to go find Yin Pan’er for some ‘in-depth communication.’

However, he thought, since Yin Pan’er had finally started to see him in a better light, it was good to keep her guessing for a while.

After all, last time was forced, truly not a good experience.

If they were to do it again, he needed her cooperation, that would be fun.

And, right now, if he wanted it.

Those Solar Term Maidens were always ready. Although their looks couldn’t compare to Yin Pan’er’s,

they were prized for being obedient.

With Yin Pan’er, there was no rush.

Early the next morning.

Qian Lai arrived early with a group of craftsmen.

Xiao Ce had renamed the previous treasure-hiding palace

to the Divine Engine Hall.

He then divided them into several groups. Some were responsible for making parts, some for final assembly.

Each group only received part of the blueprint. Some of the simpler parts were given to Qian Lai to have outsiders make.

This maximized the secrecy of the blueprints.

“Everyone, I entrust this to you. If you have any needs for daily life, you can find Qian Lai. We will do our utmost to meet them! In the coming days, please work as quickly as possible. This Prince urgently needs these divine weapons to attack the Turks!”

The group, seeing his earnestness, said excitedly, “Prince, are we attacking the Turks so soon? Prince, rest assured, we would rather work ourselves to death than delay your war plans!”

The nearby craftsmen nodded and echoed in agreement.

Xiao Ce smiled and said, “No need to work to death. First, a thousand sets of compound bows and repeating crossbows! There’s enough time.”

After giving a few more instructions,

it was already noon. Xiao Ce walked out while still giving orders to Qian Lai.

As he walked out, he saw Fei Du pacing anxiously outside the door.

Seeing Xiao Ce, Fei Du hurried over in quick strides.

Seeing his hurried appearance, Xiao Ce asked,

“Is it a letter from the Turks?”

Fei Du clasped his hands and presented a bamboo tube. Xiao Ce opened it, sneered, and said, “They agreed quite readily!”

Fei Du was surprised. “Prince, the Turks agreed to your demands?”

Xiao Ce smiled and said, “Only a fool would believe that! They definitely don’t know our situation here right now, but they’re just trying to temporarily stabilize us. So we don’t hurt his precious prince…”

“Right now, their Turkish spies are probably searching everywhere for information. Their armies are also mobilizing!”

Hearing Xiao Ce’s analysis, Fei Du showed a look of admiration but didn’t comment further.

He only asked, “Prince, should we send a reply next?”

Xiao Ce thought for a moment and said, “No rush for now! You have message crows for all the various tribal leaders among the Turks, right?”

Fei Du nodded.

Xiao Ce said, “Then you go attend to your duties for now. I will come to you later! Recently, make sure those message crows are well-fed. They will be very busy in the coming times!”

Fei Du clasped his hands in agreement and retreated.

Xiao Ce then turned and handed the letter from the Turks to Xiao Jiu.

Xiao Jiu looked at Xiao Ce with a questioning and slightly puzzled expression.

Xiao Ce deliberately tested him. “What do you think This Prince wants you to do next?”

Xiao Jiu looked at Xiao Ce, bowed, and said, “Prince, this humble one dares not presume to guess your thoughts.”

Xiao Ce laughed. “You rascal, don’t be like that with This Prince. This Prince knows you guessed. This Prince orders you to say it!”

Xiao Jiu clasped his hands. “Then this humble one is so bold. Prince, you probably want this humble one to take this letter to the Rites Hall to let the people there know that even the Turks have submitted to you and agreed to our conditions!”

Xiao Ce nodded with satisfaction. “Good, you guessed partly right. However, you missed the most important thing!”

Xiao Jiu bowed respectfully. “Please instruct this one, Prince.”

“Go bring Mosi Ashina out. Say This Prince wants to use him for a trade with the Turks!” Xiao Ce said with a faint smile.

Seeing Xiao Jiu’s awkward smile and his hesitating, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping, look,

Xiao Ce asked, “What’s wrong? Why that fake smile?”