Chapter 157: The Little Emperor is Pampered
Could eat, and could sleep.
After waking up, Wei Wanlan found some soldiers guarding outside his tent. As soon as he woke, they immediately rushed to report:
“Your Majesty, the supply line is open. Our army can control the entire Turkic territory!”
This was wonderful news. The soldiers were jubilant. Wei Wanlan naturally felt like he had been hit on the head with good news upon waking up. However, he waited a little while and didn’t hear any movement from the Sage Emperor Cultivation System.
Today’s Mission Three was still not finished.
Wei Wanlan looked down at his clothes. They had all been changed, clean and fresh. The Regent King who changed his clothes had gone out to attend to military affairs again. Wei Wanlan felt a little disappointed and went out to handle his own matters.
He asked the generals to find out, within a short time, exactly how many starving and freezing commoners were in the Royal Court, as well as the slaves of various tribes about to be exiled.
He didn’t say what he wanted to do.
Before long, the soldiers collected all the intelligence the Emperor wanted into a book. There weren’t many people, about a thousand, because the Royal Court was mainly inhabited by Turkic nobles. Even if these commoners held hands and lined up, the scale was only that of a small army.
Wei Wanlan calculated in his heart: How to aid them?
Commoners were easy to deal with. He could distribute felt tents and heating supplies. As long as there was food, charcoal fire, and clothes, they could survive.
The difficult part was the noble slaves.
Slaves belonged to the assets of nobles. Logically, they should be fed by the lords and serve the lords.
If Wei Wanlan took the initiative to propose distributing supplies to slaves, would it not reach the slaves’ hands at all? Would it be taken directly by bad masters like Boro?
With this consideration, Wei Wanlan dared not act rashly.
To avoid failing to save the people he wanted to save and instead losing the hard-earned money of the Great Wei people.
He thought of the group of slaves he saved initially. Wei Wanlan asked, “How are those people after eating?”
The soldier answered dutifully: “They enjoyed the victory banquet in the side hall, changed into clean clothes, and are all alive. This is a supreme honor. Boro saw you step forward and thought you took a fancy to these people, so he dared not ask for them back.”
Among Turkic slave owners, there was also a habit of giving and demanding slaves from each other.
Wei Wanlan felt much more comfortable hearing the people were fine, and asked again: “Then where are they now?”
“Just near the Golden Tent. General Tang felt bored while recovering from his injury and is watching over them.” The soldier paused, then reported again, “It’s called watching over, but these people can’t stay idle. They have their own things to do. It is said they are sewing leather armor and leather clothes day and night without stopping.”
“Are we fighting again?”
“No. They are willing to do so. Slaves in Turkic lands are skilled labor themselves; everyone has some skills.”
The soldier just finished speaking. Wei Wanlan’s doe eyes lit up. That was very true. If the Royal Court counted on nobles like Boro to work, everyone would have to drink the northwest wind (go hungry).
Wei Wanlan suddenly came up with a very “green” rescue strategy. His dragon head nodded gently:
…If Zhen decrees that all nobles must not abandon slaves, and those they cannot afford to raise should be given to Zhen, Zhen will raise them. But they will belong to Zhen and contribute their utmost in the military camp. If they do well, Zhen promises to give them good citizen status upon returning to Chang’an.
Wei Wanlan felt this idea was simply fantastic!
Nice.
If the Regent King’s recruitment system was spending money to hire people, then his was purely getting many people to work for free, as long as he provided food.
Feeling he should discuss this with the Regent King, Wei Wanlan bit his lip before issuing the decree.
But, he still made the decision to issue the decree.
Because he wanted to give the Regent King a surprise. If his decision-making was good, would it count as him becoming more independent now?
Wei Wanlan quickly explained his intention and asked the soldier to draft the decree.
The soldier was shocked listening. While hurriedly taking notes with a brush, his eyes flickered, and he confirmed with the little Emperor tremblingly, his gaze a bit shifty:
“Your Majesty, the Regent King’s conscription of barbarian generals is already very risky. If Your Majesty releases slaves, I fear that ‘those not of our kin are sure to be of a different heart’…”
The soldier meant well. Wei Wanlan certainly understood.
So he took smaller steps and adjusted the decree: “Then let’s try a partial trial first. Set a small goal, save one hundred people?”
Compared to a thousand, this was already very restrained.
The soldier accepted the order: “This subordinate obeys the decree! Your Majesty is benevolent and wise!”
Mm, strange adjectives increased again. It was the belated reminder from the Sage Emperor Cultivation System in his ear.
【Host pushes Mission Three further.】
Wuwuwuwu, why is Mission Three still not finished!?
Wei Wanlan’s decree was just issued in the morning.
In the afternoon, all the commoners in the entire Turkic Royal Court who had no one to care for them received Great Wei’s supply provision. These tents located at the very edge of the Royal Court could also burn blazing charcoal fires.
As for Wei Wanlan’s rescue policy for Turkic slaves, it started as a trial with Turkic nobles who had many slaves at home. That very day, Wei Wanlan received twenty-five slaves who were almost frozen to death.
One was too heavily injured and died. The other twenty-four were all saved. Those who could move were assigned basic tasks according to the situation. Those who hadn’t recovered yet didn’t need to rush; just recuperate first.
…
After dealing with the aftermath of the Turkic snow disaster, news came from the military side saying that the Regent King had finished reorganizing a team of barbarian generals. The people were all in the military council tent in the Royal Court, inviting Wei Wanlan to go and give a lecture.
Hearing this, Wei Wanlan felt it played right into his hands. He also had something to ask the Regent King:
The two Red Barbarian Cannon Brothers had now been transported from Iron Mountain to the Turkic Royal Court. Wei Wanlan still hadn’t given up on using firearms in ancient times. Together with the “Fire Dragon Manual” (Huo Long Jing) he took out from the Sage Emperor Cultivation System back then, he transported them all to the military council tent.
Wei Wanlan lifted the thick felt curtain of the military council tent. The curtain was dead heavy, making his wrist ache.
Entering the tent, in his field of vision, six or seven tall generals with thick beards and curly hair typical of Turkic people stood waiting.
The Turkic generals were still a bit awkward acknowledging a master for the first time. Because they were close, their height and the little Emperor’s petite size were even more apparent.
The Turkic generals bowed down, like a pack of big grey wolves surrounding a little white rabbit, their voices loud and clear:
“This general and others pay respects to the Emperor, Your Majesty!”
Even kneeling, these people were like iron mountains, their voices shaking the tent.
Wei Wanlan didn’t want to lose momentum. He stood straight and upright, seemingly hoping to raise himself a few inches higher, holding the Emperor’s aura steadily. Alas, he couldn’t change the fact that he was just very small.
At this time, the Regent King stood behind him. A woody fragrance wafted slowly. Su Jingzhi was like a jade tree, using his slender figure to make up for Wei Wanlan’s physical shortcomings. Wei Wanlan felt more confident: “All rise.”
“Thank you, Long Live Your Majesty!”
At Su Jingzhi’s signal with his eyes, these barbarian generals introduced themselves to Wei Wanlan one by one: some had the compound surname Geshu, some had the surname Chanyu… and some whose ancestors were just commoners, having no presentable surname, famous solely for fighting bravely.
The six barbarian generals introduced themselves once.
Next, it was Wei Wanlan, the Emperor’s turn to summarize their recruitment into the court as officials.
Six pairs of deep Hu eyes gazed at Wei Wanlan.
From these gazes, Wei Wanlan sensed the strong insecurity of the big Hu men—making him suddenly think of the Great Wei soldier’s words when he planned to save the Turkic slaves: “Those not of our kin are sure to be of a different heart.”
If these Turkic people who initially intended to defect to Great Wei were not trusted from the start and were kept in the military camp with constant vigilance, they probably wouldn’t be able to work freely in the future.
How to close the distance with these surrendered generals?
Wei Wanlan quickly remembered an item from the Sage Emperor Cultivation System whose name alone made people feel it was very interesting. He hurriedly opened the interface and used this thing: The Gibberish Translator.
The item took effect. Wei Wanlan’s small mouth immediately babbled a string of fluent Turkic words.
Turkic pronunciation emphasized flow, completely different from the rounded and distinct articulation of Great Wei’s official language. After Wei Wanlan finished this string of words, the barbarian generals kneeling in front of him all raised their heads in astonishment upon hearing it, light flashing invariably in their eyes.
“Your Majesty…”
No one expected that Wei Wanlan, as the Son of Heaven of Great Wei—a nation that considered itself the land of propriety and righteousness—would speak standard Turkic!
And this Turkic proverb Wei Wanlan spoke was very authentic and fitting, perfectly catering to the surrendered Turkic generals who wanted to do great things but were uneasy due to their special status.
The Emperor said, “Rivers on the grassland do not ask where they come from, they only flow to the sea.”
The surrendered Turkic generals were moved to tears. They bowed again facing Wei Wanlan, each with a hoarse voice: “Many thanks, Long Live Your Majesty! Long live my Emperor…”
At this time, Wei Wanlan felt a gaze from behind. He turned around and saw the Regent King gazing at him, his face revealing a bit of unexpected surprise. He had never expected Wei Wanlan to speak Turkic. There was praise in his eyes, saying “Little Wan is amazing and brings credit to us.”
Amazing Little Wan climbed up the pole (took advantage of the situation). Wei Wanlan immediately turned to face Su Jingzhi and smiled, his doe eyes seemingly filled with sparkling stars:
“Impressive, right? Zhen just learned it~”
Just learned meant he only knew these few sentences, not too exaggerated to be discovered using cheats.
Knowing how to apply it right after learning also made the Great Wei Son of Heaven seem very smart. A little Emperor who was both intelligent and willing to humbly accept Turkic culture was a good Emperor who caused the favorability of Turkic generals to skyrocket.
The Turkic generals wept with gratitude again: “My Emperor is wise!”
After settling these Turkic military generals, the military council tent was empty. Wei Wanlan saw the timing was right, clapped his hands, and asked the soldiers to bring up the two Cannon Brothers who had suffered much grievance in ancient times.
The Red Barbarian Cannons had traveled everywhere with Wei Wanlan, been rained on, slept in snow, and served as stones to weigh down tents. Truly moving bricks wherever needed.
Now the two Cannon Brothers were presented before Su Jingzhi. Wei Wanlan also handed over the “Fire Dragon Manual,” looking a bit like an average student struggling with difficult exam problems, diligently asking the top student for homework tutoring.
Heaven knows why he, a modern person, had to ask the ancient Regent King how to use artillery?
But Wei Wanlan inexplicably felt he would know.
A whole Wei Wanlan surrounded Su Jingzhi, his small mouth continuing to babble, busy describing the functions of the cannon to the Regent King, and then telling Su Jingzhi the usage of the cannon he had pieced together:
“Zhen guesses a ball is put into the barrel, and then propelled by gunpowder to shoot very far away…”
“But exactly how to do it, Zhen isn’t too clear on this step.”
Always loving to tilt his head unconsciously when in doubt.
Wei Wanlan pulled the Regent King’s arm. When speaking, his tone unconsciously carried a bit of wheedling: “Help Zhen, study it well, and then tell Zhen, okay?”
The appearance of the Red Barbarian Cannon would bring an epoch-making improvement to Great Wei’s military power. Wei Wanlan didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
Su Jingzhi certainly hoped for Wei’s military strength to grow even more. He nodded, agreeing very crisply:
“Okay.”
Maybe he agreed too crisply. It actually aroused Wei Wanlan’s suspicion: Don’t you want to look at the reference book and think about it first?
The surprised look made him appear a tiny bit dumb. Wei Wanlan blinked his doe eyes, and Su Jingzhi’s gentle and steady voice sounded in his ear:
“After all, this is the first time you’ve asked This King to do ‘serious business’. So I have to agree quickly.”
“How could that be…”
Obviously, Wei Wanlan pouted, unsatisfied with this answer. But at this moment, in his mind, he quickly went through all the requests he had made to the Regent King:
Begging to leave the palace, begging for a private tour, begging for more desserts, begging to touch the giant panda, begging to raise a little sparrow, begging you to take Zhen to the Beast Park…
In… indeed, no serious business QAQ.
The Great Wei monarch instantly lost the confidence to refute. His small face wilted, holding Su Jingzhi’s arm and lowering his eyes.
Seeming to hear Su Jingzhi chuckle lightly above his head, Wei Wanlan rubbed back and forth on his arm to express his protest. At this moment, a thought drilled into his mind:
——Maybe I didn’t realize it back then?
Ever since the day I transmigrated into the book, I’ve been pampered by the Regent King like a child.
Hehe.
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The content is a repeat of chapter 156. Please fix the chapter
done. Thank you for letting me know.