Chapter 178

Chapter 178

Xie Chengyan and Jin Bao remained in Pingyuan County for some time.

Xie Chengyan had a great deal of official business to handle every day.

Even so, he always set aside one hour each day to teach Jin Bao to read and practice writing.

Jin Bao’s first textbook was the Thousand Character Classic.

Xie Chengyan had her recite one section of it every day.

That was not difficult for Jin Bao in the slightest.

She possessed a photographic memory.

This was probably another result of absorbing energy from the Crystal Core.

Under normal circumstances, Jin Bao could memorize every character Xie Chengyan taught her that same day, and she could withstand any test he gave her afterward.

No matter which character he pointed to, she could identify it accurately.

She was not simply reciting them in memorized order.

This discovery gave Xie Chengyan even greater confidence in teaching her.

Teaching Jin Bao became his happiest part of every day because it filled him with an immense sense of accomplishment.

But those happy moments did not last forever.

That was especially true once he began teaching her to write.

Jin Bao would rather recite lessons aloud than put brush to paper.

The bristles of the writing brush felt too soft and floppy. With her tremendous strength, she could not control the pressure at all.

Her strokes alternated between thick and thin, her characters came out crooked, and some were enormous while others were tiny.

This gave Xie Chengyan quite a headache.

He could only watch Jin Bao closely and guide her hand through every stroke.

“Jin Bao, look. What character is this?”

“Baby knows! This is the character for field. Look, Uncle, it’s like lots of little fields. Every square is one field, so the character has four fields.”

Xie Chengyan smiled and nodded. “That’s right. So you must divide all four evenly. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair, would it?”

Jin Bao nodded vigorously. “Uncle is right. Baby is the fairest, so Baby will divide them real good.”

Sure enough, the character looked much better the next time Jin Bao wrote it.

During her few days in Pingyuan County, her greatest improvement was learning to write her own name.

The three characters that formed Xiao Jinru were crooked and obviously written by a young child.

Yet Xie Chengyan still felt an enormous sense of accomplishment.

It had taken a great deal of coaxing before she agreed to write those three characters.

As the little girl wrote, she complained, “Why did Daddy name Baby Xiao Jinru? It’s too hard to write. Why didn’t he name Baby Yiyi or Tiantian? Those would be so easy!”

Xie Chengyan chose to ignore that question entirely.

Several days later, once the affairs of Pingyuan County had largely been put in order, Xie Chengyan set out again with the remaining men for Ding’an County.

Ding’an County was the main target of their present campaign because it was a major grain-producing region.

It was also the county seat with the largest garrison. Ordinarily, several thousand soldiers were stationed there.

With war spreading, that number had been increased to eight thousand defenders.

Yet they still could not withstand Xiao Che’s assault.

The area consisted of open plains and offered no geographical advantage. Xiao Che was also a War God seasoned by countless battles. With the Dragon Tiger Guard under his command and twice as many troops as the enemy, he breached the city and captured Ding’an that very night.

In the battle, Xiao Che killed more than two thousand defenders and captured over five thousand. He spent several days in Ding’an breaking the prisoners into separate groups and incorporating them into his own force.

Xiao Che’s army now numbered twenty-five thousand.

After only a brief rest in Ding’an County, he continued south.

When Xie Chengyan arrived in Ding’an County with Jin Bao, he discovered that Xiao Che had left twice as many guards there as he had in Pingyuan County.

This time, Xiao Che had not left any Shadow Guards to oversee the handover. Instead, he had stationed one thousand members of the Dragon Tiger Guard there.

Those thousand Dragon Tiger Guards would also be responsible for patrolling and defending the county seat.

Xiao Che had received word that Xie Chengyan had borrowed a considerable number of men from Qingya Academy.

Furthermore, the magistrate of Ding’an County had been one of Prince Cheng’s men. Xiao Che therefore accused the magistrate of collaborating with the enemy and beheaded him in public.

He even threw every other official in the county seat into prison.

Ding’an County was too important to permit the slightest risk. Xiao Che had handled matters with ruthless speed, preferring to kill the innocent rather than allow one guilty man to escape and cause trouble later.

When Xie Chengyan learned what had happened, he sighed. Xiao Che knew he had recruited new officials, so he had torn through the existing administration without restraint.

Fortunately, they could follow the precedent established in Pingyuan County.

Zheng Xuan had also set a strong example, making Ding’an County much easier to handle.

Xie Chengyan planned to take Jin Bao to find Xiao Che as soon as he finished settling Ding’an County.

The girl asked to see Daddy every single day.

If he delayed any longer, she would probably slip away on her own.

There was nowhere in the entire Northern Frontier that could contain her.

Her abilities were simply too great. Xie Chengyan could do nothing to stop her.

After several more days of travel, Xie Chengyan and his party finally caught up with Xiao Che.

Jin Bao at last saw the daddy from whom she had been separated for more than a month. Overcome with excitement, she launched herself straight at him.

Xiao Che swept Jin Bao up from the carriage and spun her through the air several times.

“My girl has grown a little bigger.”

Holding Jin Bao, Xiao Che thought she felt slightly heavier than she had a month ago.

Jin Bao answered with a grin, “Daddy’s beard grew longer too. Baby can braid it into little braids now!”

She reached out and gave his beard a gentle tug.

Xiao Che burst into laughter.

“All right. Daddy will leave his beard in my girl’s care.”

Watching the father and daughter together, Xie Chengyan could not help feeling a little sour. Which one of them was her blood relative, anyway?

The little girl had not once greeted him with such enthusiasm during the entire journey. Xiao Che truly did not deserve such good fortune.

Once their reunion ended, Xiao Che placed Jin Bao directly on his horse, then swung up behind her.

“Old Xie, you’ve worked hard during this time. I’ve already prepared food and wine to welcome you. Come into the command tent with me.”

Xie Chengyan rolled his eyes at Xiao Che, then bent down and climbed into the carriage. The convoy started moving again, following Xiao Che’s horse toward the main camp.

Xiao Che’s next target was Jing’an County, which lay another hundred li away.
They were waiting for provisions.

That was why they had been camped here for several days.

When they reached the commander’s encampment, they entered the main command tent.

Sure enough, Xie Chengyan found several dishes arranged on the low table inside.

Jin Bao had already taken a seat at the table ahead of him.

As expected, her favorite roast chicken was waiting there.

It was actually a wild pheasant that Xiao Che had personally hunted and ordered the camp cooks to prepare.

It might not taste as good as one served in a restaurant, but at least its color looked appetizing.

Harsh conditions were common while marching and fighting in the field.

Judging from the dishes, Xiao Che had genuinely put thought into welcoming Xie Chengyan.

He was sincerely grateful. Without Xie Chengyan, there truly would have been no one to govern the county seats he conquered.

Xiao Che had personally hunted a considerable amount of wild game.

Every hearty dish on the table was an expression of his gratitude.

Xie Chengyan said nothing, but his chopsticks never stopped moving. The unspoken understanding between the two old foxes was displayed perfectly over the meal.

As usual, Jin Bao simply picked up a chicken leg and began gnawing on it.

She was not picky. No matter what she ate, she always seemed to find it delicious.

Her little mouth gleamed with oil, and she was far too busy eating to speak.

Near the end of the meal, Xiao Che was about to ask Xie Chengyan about the situation in the county seats when a soldier reported that the Xiao Family had sent a messenger with a letter.

Xiao Che ordered the man brought in.

Xie Chengyan also set down his chopsticks and carefully wiped Jin Bao’s little hands and mouth clean with a handkerchief.

Xiao Che had already taken his seat behind the command table.

When the messenger entered, Xiao Che recognized him as Xiao Lan’s second younger cousin, Xiao Jiang.

“This commoner greets the General.”

Xiao Jiang hurriedly kowtowed.

“Please rise. Sit.”

A soldier brought in a pot of tea, then withdrew.

Xie Chengyan sat across from Xiao Che with Jin Bao in his arms.

Xiao Jiang pulled a letter from his robe.

“General, our Family Head asked me to deliver this letter. We beg you to send troops to our aid.”

Xiao Che’s brow furrowed slightly.

What could have happened in Baishui Town?

Puzzled, he accepted the letter, opened it, and scanned it quickly.

“What? Prince Cheng’s men launched a surprise attack on Baishui Town? Do you know how many there are?”

Xiao Che handed the letter to Xie Chengyan to read, then questioned Xiao Jiang.

Xiao Jiang shook his head. “We do not know at present. When the Family Head discovered Prince Cheng’s men attacking, he sent me to Jintang Valley with this letter that very night. Only after arriving there did I learn that the General had departed on campaign, so I hurried here from Jintang Valley. I have no idea what the situation in Baishui Town is now.”

Xiao Che looked toward Xie Chengyan.

“Old Xie, what do you think?”

Xie Chengyan placed the letter on the table beside him before answering, “I would guess that Xiao Lan captured Prince Cheng’s agents. With their inside men gone, Prince Cheng’s forces grew impatient and attacked directly. They are after the Xiao Family’s grain. If they discover that all of it has already been sold to us, they will surely massacre Baishui Town to vent their fury.”

That was exactly what concerned Xiao Che.

The condition of his business arrangement with the Xiao Family of Baishui Town was that he would guarantee their safety.

They were the first great family to submit to his side. The other great families were surely watching Baishui Town in secret.

If Baishui Town was massacred, Xiao Che’s reputation would collapse. Winning over any of the other great families would become far more difficult.

There was no time to lose. Xiao Che immediately summoned Long Xia.

“Long Xia, assemble ten thousand troops at once and reinforce Baishui Town. You must protect the town at all costs. If possible, annihilate the enemy. Leave no survivors.”

Unless they inflicted enough pain, the enemy would certainly launch more surprise attacks.

The Xiao Family had always controlled the waterways. Xiao Che’s men could not establish defenses along the water routes, which had allowed the enemy to exploit this opening.

This also proved that Prince Cheng’s side was nearly out of grain. Otherwise, they would not have resorted to a surprise attack.

Long Xia accepted the command token, turned, and left the tent.

Jin Bao looked anxiously at Xiao Jiang.

“Uncle, is Suisui okay?”

Seeing that Jin Bao was the one asking, Xiao Jiang replied with respect, “Your Highness, this commoner does not know. When I left, the Xiao Family had already closed several defensive gates. But I have been traveling for days, so I do not know what the situation is now.”

Panic rose in Jin Bao’s heart. Suisui was her favorite little niece, the cutest Suisui in the world. She did not want anything to happen to her.

Jin Bao tried to use her visions of the future to see Suisui’s condition.

But the more anxious she became, the emptier her mind grew. She could not see anything clearly.

Jin Bao immediately climbed down from Xie Chengyan’s lap.

“Daddy, Baby wants to go with Uncle Long Xia and save Suisui. Baby doesn’t want Suisui to die.”

Xiao Che saw how anxious his daughter was. With her current abilities, no one could harm her, so he was reasonably reassured.

“You may go, but you must take Ye Qi with you.”

Xiao Che was not worried about Jin Bao confronting obvious villains. He feared people who pretended to be good in order to harm her.

After all, Jin Bao was still very young and inexperienced. She did not yet understand how treacherous the human heart could be.

With Ye Qi constantly by her side, he could remind her to remain wary.

“Okay. Baby will go with Uncle Ye Qi.”

Jin Bao turned to run, but Xie Chengyan scooped her up at once.

“You’re leaving just like that? What will you eat on the road? Wait while Uncle prepares some food for you. Long Xia will need time to assemble the troops anyway. A few moments won’t make a difference.”

Xie Chengyan personally packed a bag of food for Jin Bao and handed it to Ye Qi.

Jin Bao waved to Daddy and Uncle, then took off running.

“Ye Qi, be on guard against anyone with designs on Miss. Once matters there are resolved, send me a message by carrier pigeon.”

Xiao Che was still worried in the end. However, Jin Bao would one day rule all of Great Xia, so she had to go out into the world and gain experience. As her father, his heart ached, but he had no other choice.

Learning to let go at the right time was also a way to help his daughter grow quickly.