Chapter 140
Chapter 140
Xie Yanhong had Long Xia lead people outside and bring the thousand cavalrymen into the estate.
At that moment, Ye Qi carried Xiao Jingxing down from the carriage.
“Young Master Xie, please find a physician for my young master. He was gravely wounded and has remained unconscious ever since.”
Xie Yanhong hurriedly led Ye Qi into the estate and guided them to the western side courtyard that had already been prepared.
The estate covered an enormous area.
It was divided into a main courtyard and eastern and western side courtyards.
Behind the main courtyard lay a military camp covering more than one hundred mu.
The entire camp was arranged in a rectangular formation.
It currently contained five hundred tents for the Dragon Tiger Guard, one hundred infantry tents, and one hundred tents for scouts and elite cavalry. Each tent housed ten men, and every ten tents formed one company, for a total of seventy companies.
Passageways two zhang wide separated the companies, facilitating troop movement, the transmission of orders, and firefighting.
The camp included a grain and fodder section, kitchens, medical tents, stables, and a waste-disposal area.
Trenches, chevaux-de-frise, and wooden palisades surrounded the tents.
Inside, the main paths formed a cross, each four zhang wide.
Even Xiao Che nodded repeatedly at the sight, instantly recalling his years leading troops in the Southern Frontier.
A vast training ground stood before the tents, large enough for ten thousand soldiers to drill simultaneously.
To the east of the tents lay more than ten mu of fodder grounds and stables.
Behind the estate, stones had been piled into a high wall. Dense forest lay beyond it, making the location equally suitable for attack or defense. Xie Chengyan had selected the site with great care and spent considerable silver purchasing it.
Only then did the Dragon Tiger Guard gain a place to settle in the Northern Frontier.
Including the soldiers Jin Bao later incorporated and the newly captured cavalry, the estate now housed six thousand troops. They consumed nearly five tons of grain each day. Together with the fodder required by more than a thousand warhorses, daily consumption reached eleven tons.
Adding military pay, firewood, oil, salt, vegetables, and other expenses, the daily cost was at least nearly one hundred taels of silver.
That calculation used grain prices from ordinary peaceful times. After repeated snow disasters in the Northern Frontier the previous year, grain prices had soared.
Supporting these soldiers now cost the Xie Family well over one hundred taels a day.
Xie Chengyan had supported them for several months, already consuming tens of thousands of taels.
No wonder he was so anxious to transport grain outside. At this rate, even the wealthiest family would eventually be emptied.
Xiao Che understood Xie Chengyan’s hardship better than anyone. When he led troops in the Southern Frontier, delays in provisions and military pay had made him so anxious that blisters covered his mouth.
Now he had hidden in the mountains and left this entire burden outside to Xie Chengyan. Thinking about it, he truly felt he had failed his friend.
But transporting grain out of the mountains was inconvenient. The best solution was still to reclaim and cultivate large tracts outside.
By now, the entire Northern Frontier had long since warmed.
They had felled a great deal of timber in the forests outside Black Pine Valley, clearing vast tracts of land. Before the frozen ground had fully thawed, the villagers of New Life Village were already using draft cattle to reclaim it.
They had long since planted their second potato crop.
The plants had already begun sprouting, proving that the environment outside Black Pine Valley was also suitable for potatoes.
If even reclaimed forestland could grow potatoes, could they promote the crop throughout the entire Northern Frontier?
However, they were not currently in power, so implementing it across the Northern Frontier would be extremely difficult.
Xiao Che was already considering taking control of the Northern Frontier. But their combined forces numbered only six thousand men capable of fighting on the front line. Against the region’s army of one hundred thousand, it would be like striking a rock with an egg.
Since they could not prevail by force, they would have to win through strategy.
“Valley Master, Young Master Xie brought the military physician to examine the Young Master. The physician says the Young Master suffered internal injuries and endured days of travel. He must recuperate in bed, or he may be left with a hidden ailment.”
Ye Qi found Xiao Che in the camp and repeated the military physician’s words exactly.
Xiao Che nodded. “Then let Xiao Jingxing remain at the estate to recuperate for now. Where is the Young Miss?”
Ye Qi froze. The Valley Master truly doted upon the Young Miss. The contrast could not have been clearer.
“The Young Miss is in the Eldest Young Master’s room and has not left his side.”
Hearing this, Xiao Che rubbed his nose. Even his daughter showed more concern than he did as a father. Indeed…
“Let’s go see the Young Master.”
Ye Qi let out a quiet breath. The Valley Master had finally remembered to visit the Eldest Young Master.
In Xiao Che’s eyes, only the military camp and Jin Bao seemed worthy of his attention. He appeared to care little about anything else.
The two reached the western side courtyard just as Xie Yanhong was seeing the physician out.
“Uncle Xiao, the physician says Young Master Xiao injured his internal organs and must recuperate in bed. Why not let him remain at my estate for the time being?”
Xiao Che had already intended the same. Since Xie Yanhong offered, he did not refuse.
“Then I will have to trouble my worthy nephew.”
Xie Yanhong bowed respectfully before saying, “Uncle Xiao, you are too courteous. You’ve endured a long, exhausting journey. I’ll have the kitchen prepare hot food at once.”
Xiao Che nodded. “Thank you, but my daughter loves meat. Have the kitchen prepare extra meat dishes. She hasn’t eaten anything for three days.”
Xie Yanhong grew anxious. “She hasn’t eaten for three days? Is Jin Bao ill too?”
Seeing that Xie Yanhong had misunderstood, Xiao Che quickly explained, “No. Whenever she uses her power, she falls into a deep sleep. This time, she slept rather long and never woke along the way. She was calling for food just now.”
Without another word, Xie Yanhong personally went to give instructions in the kitchen.
Xiao Che entered the room alone.
Xiao Jingxing had been placed on the heated platform inside.
His face was deathly pale, his cheekbones jutting sharply.
Jin Bao held Xiao Jingxing’s large hand and sobbed softly, her eyes as red as a little rabbit’s.
“Eldest Brother, please wake up. Baby wants to play flying high with you. Don’t sleep anymore, all right? You’ve slept even longer than Baby. Mommy, Second Brother, Third Brother, Grandma, Nanny – everyone misses you.”
As if he heard Jin Bao, Xiao Jingxing’s long eyelashes trembled slightly, and his slender fingers moved a little.
Jin Bao immediately stopped crying. Expectation filled her little face as she held her breath and watched Xiao Jingxing’s eyes.
But to her disappointment, Xiao Jingxing did not wake.
A large hand gently stroked the top of Jin Bao’s head. Then Xiao Che lifted her and sat down on the heated platform.
“Daughter, your Eldest Brother is badly hurt and needs rest. The physician says he’ll wake soon. If you keep crying beside him, he’ll feel upset when he hears you.”
Jin Bao hurriedly wiped away her tears and said in a tearful voice, “Baby won’t cry or disturb Eldest Brother. Baby will stay here with him, so when Eldest Brother wakes up, Baby will be the first person he sees.”
“All right. We’ll stay here with your Eldest Brother tonight.”
Xiao Jingxing’s fingers moved slightly again.
Before long, a young servant entered carrying food.
Jin Bao twitched her little nose and smelled the meat from far away.
“Wow, meat! Baby wants meat!”
Xiao Che carried Jin Bao into the outer room.
The young servant had already filled a table with dishes.
Xie Yanhong entered carrying a jar of fine wine.
“Uncle Xiao, this is a ten-year-old jar of Nuerhong from my father’s cellar. Today, I’ll take the liberty of opening it to welcome you.”
Xiao Che had not touched alcohol for a year. When he heard it was ten-year-old Nuerhong, he immediately swallowed.
“You certainly know how to please me, brat. Aren’t you afraid your father will beat you when he returns?”
Xie Yanhong smiled. “No. Once we’ve drunk it, what can he do? Unless he can defeat Uncle Xiao.”
Xiao Che laughed heartily. “Even if I gave your father ten free moves, he couldn’t touch a single hair on my head. Drink!”
Jin Bao kept her head down and devoted herself to eating.
She was simply too hungry. After sleeping for three days and nights, every cell in her body clamored for food.
She picked up an entire braised pig trotter coated in rich dark sauce and began gnawing on it.
Not only was her little mouth greasy, sauce covered her face until she looked like a mottled kitten.
While chewing a braised pork knuckle, her large eyes had already fixed upon another plate of roast chicken.
Jin Bao now felt that possessing only one mouth was far too little.
“Young Master, the scouts have reported.”
A young servant bowed outside the western side courtyard. Any development would be reported to Xie Yanhong immediately.
Xie Yanhong and Xiao Che had only just finished their third round of wine. Hearing the scout’s report sobered them by half.
“Send him in quickly.”
Half a month ago, Xie Yanhong had dispatched five scouts to investigate Jinshi Town. At last, news had returned.