Chapter 55: A Letter from Ying Shu

"Xijie, reporting to the Great General."

Xijie bowed respectfully, pointing toward the dense crowd behind him. "By the order of our Lord, I have escorted over eight thousand convicted exiles to this place."

"Additionally, Princess Ying Shu asked me to bring two thousand cavalry crossbow bolts, five thousand infantry crossbow bolts, and a letter."

With that, Xijie retrieved a silk scroll from his pouch.

Ying Shu?

A slight tremor went through Zhao Zheng's heart. He eagerly took the silk scroll and quickly unrolled it. Written upon it were merely two lines of delicate handwriting:

*The western border is bitter and cold. Take good care of yourself.*

Looking at this distant reminder, Zhao Zheng gripped the silk scroll tightly.

That girl Ying Shu...

Zhao Zheng put away the scroll, a slight sting in the bridge of his nose. Ever since his transmigration, aside from the old man Wang Xu, this was the first time someone had cared for him so deeply.

"What are your responsibilities at court?" Zhao Zheng suppressed his personal emotions and looked at Xijie.

Xijie replied respectfully, "Reporting to the Great General, I am responsible for domestic affairs and infrastructure development at court."

Infrastructure? Ying Quliang had truly provided timely help!

A sharp gleam flashed in Zhao Zheng's eyes. He grabbed Xijie's arm excitedly, "Xijie, from now on, you shall serve as the Magistrate of Mianzhu City. I want you to rebuild Mianzhu City for me at the fastest possible speed."

"Mission guaranteed!"

The sudden wave of immense joy left Xijie momentarily dazed.

He had originally thought that being tasked with escorting convicted exiles was the end of his official career, but who would have imagined it would become the opening chapter of a brand-new page.

"Jian Ping, Yuan Long, the two of you stay behind to assist Xijie."

Zhao Zheng's gaze swept over his two capable subordinates standing behind him.

A trace of hesitation flashed across Jian Ping's face. "However, your safety..."

Zhao Zheng decisively waved his hand to interrupt. "Xijie is a newcomer, and his authority lacks weight. Furthermore, the Yuan tribe cavalry and our Qin cavalry have always been commanded by the two of you."

"Should any special circumstances arise, you will be able to adapt accordingly."

"On this trip, I have the girl Dining to guide the way, along with eight hundred elite cavalry to accompany me. My safety is not an issue."

With the matter settled, Jian Ping and Yuan Long said no more.

Each of them selected four hundred of the most elite cavalry from their ranks, making up a total of eight hundred, and handed them over to Zhao Zheng.

"What? You're coming to our tribe?"

Dining's eyes widened in astonishment as she watched Zhao Zheng nimbly mount his horse.

Sitting high in the saddle, Zhao Zheng glanced down at her. "What is it, not welcome? But I recall your father saying I would be welcome whenever I visited..."

"Welcome, of course you're welcome." Dining's face crumpled in embarrassment as she hurriedly waved her hands in denial. "However, are you certain you aren't coming to attack us?"

As she spoke, she pointed at the eight hundred cavalry behind Zhao Zheng, who by any stretch of the imagination looked fully prepared for a fight.

Especially since she had personally experienced the terrifying power of the Qin crossbows.

Zhao Zheng rolled his eyes in annoyance. "If I truly wanted to attack, I would have ridden out and trampled your grasslands days ago. Would you still be bouncing around here right now?"

"Get on your horse!"

Chastised, Dining stuck out her tongue sheepishly, leaped onto her own warhorse, and led Zhao Zheng toward the Di tribe.

The Di Tribe.

Ever since Diyuan and Dihuo established business ties with Zhao Zheng, Qin grain, textiles, and vegetables had poured into the Di tribe like a tide, and the Rong people's lives had visibly improved.

Similarly, Diyuan's salt-earth and salt trade had expanded to other tribes, filling his pockets to the brim.

Guided by Dining, the troop took a shortcut and reached the Di Rong encampment in less than half a day.

The Di Rong guards on watch spotted their young mistress from afar and, daring not to delay, dashed off to report.

"Come to think of it, your tribe doesn't have a fixed city like the Yuan tribe?"

Riding on horseback, Zhao Zheng looked around the cluster of encampments dominated by felt tents and asked Dining casually.

Dining shook her head. "We're different from the Yuan Rong. They have plains and people who understand farming."

"Our ancestors have herded sheep and hunted in the mountains for generations. We've long been accustomed to making our home wherever we roam."

Her tone carried the untamed carefree spirit typical of a tribal daughter. Zhao Zheng nodded thoughtfully and said no more.

"Where on earth has that wild girl gone to mess around... Ah, Great General, it's you!"

A furious roar echoed from within the camp, and Dihuo strode out with a face full of wrath.

However, when he caught sight of the figure on horseback beside Dining, his overflowing anger instantly transformed into a beaming smile.

Zhao Zheng gave a half-smile as he glanced at Dining, who instantly shrank her neck. So this little girl had slipped away secretly?

"That wretched girl! I originally intended for her to deliver some cattle and sheep to you, and send some of our tribal warriors to join your command."

"And she—she went and sneaked off by herself?"

Dihuo glared fiercely at Dining.

"It's no matter." Zhao Zheng waved a hand. "Besides, your young mistress also did me a huge favor, didn't she? Right, Young Mistress?"

Dining's face flushed, and she glared at Zhao Zheng in a mix of shame and vexation.

Young Mistress? What was this about?

Dihuo immediately questioned Dining's personal guards to find out what had happened. When he heard of Dining's exploits, his face darkened instantly to the color of the bottom of a pot.

"Great General..." Dihuo was just about to offer apologies when Zhao Zheng waved his hand to stop him.

"It's nothing," Zhao Zheng said. "I'm here today to discuss serious business. Shall we step aside and speak?"

"Yes, yes, Great General, please." Dihuo felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted, and he glared fiercely at his daughter once more. "If the Great General holds this against us, I'll deal with you later!"

The Di tribe's council tent.

Diyuan was in the midst of a meeting with the higher-ups of the Di Rong. Seeing Zhao Zheng walk in, he hastily stood up to greet him.

"Great General? Why have you come?"

Zhao Zheng stretched his stiff body before replying, "I've come to discuss a few matters with you."

Understanding immediately, Diyuan gave a few brief instructions to clear the tent, leaving only the core figures of the Di tribe inside the spacious pavilion.

Upon learning that this was the very Qin Great General who had brought them immense wealth, the Di Rong nobles stood up one after another to welcome him.

Zhao Zheng slumped straight into the main seat, snatched a piece of meat from the table, and shoved it into his mouth as if he were in his own home.

After a few bites of meat, he cut straight to the point: "My purpose in coming here today is to tell you this: I am going to attack Mount Qi."

Attack Mount Qi?

Diyuan and several elders exchanged glances, expressions of difficulty crossing their faces.

Diyuan spoke with hesitation, "If Mount Qi were completely under our control, ceding it to the Great General wouldn't be impossible... but..."

He trailed off, leaving the sentence unfinished. Mount Qi was not entirely theirs to dispose of at will; after all, the Yiqu were still involved.

Naturally, Zhao Zheng understood their reservations. He said calmly, "As for the Yiqu, once you withdraw, I will handle them myself."

He paused for a moment, then tossed out a condition that made all the Di Rong people's breathing turn ragged and their eyes glow with greed:

"Once the matter is accomplished, your Di tribe people may enter Mount Qi to dwell there, and your own people shall govern your populace."

The nobles present were overjoyed.

For a Di Rong people that had drifted homeless for half a lifetime, why had they allied with the Yiqu to attack Qin's Western Qi in the first place?

Was it not precisely to secure a fertile land where they could settle permanently and end their bitter, wandering days?

Now that Zhao Zheng had put it this way, who could remain unmoved?

"Is that true?"

An elder could no longer suppress his excitement and asked with a trembling voice.

Zhao Zheng nodded. "It is true. A general's word is as good as a team of four horses."

With Zhao Zheng's guarantee, coupled with the fact that the recent wealth earned by the Di Rong nobles was entirely thanks to him, how could they not believe his words?

If you want to make a fortune, you follow Zhao Zheng!

As for Diyuan, he had long harbored intentions of turning completely toward Qin, and naturally would not object.

Moreover, his intuition told him that allegiance to Qin would be his most correct choice.

Zhao Zheng's proposal met with almost no opposition among the Di Rong nobles. Even if someone had opposed, what good end could a single person meet by offending the entire clan?

While Zhao Zheng's negotiations proceeded with unimaginable smoothness, the situation at Mianzhu City was quite the opposite.

The overwhelming army of the Mianzhu Rong had already arrived outside the city walls, surrounding Mianzhu City so tightly not even a drop of water could leak through.