Star Trace Gate

Qingliang Mansion, inside the dungeon torture chamber.

More than a dozen kinds of exquisite pastries were placed on the square table, looking crystal clear and colorful, which whetted one's appetite.

Ren Ye drank tea and ate fruits and cakes, looking like a nouveau riche.

Not long after.

There was a slight knock on the door, and a white-haired old veteran, wearing shackles and shackles, walked into the room in an extremely embarrassed manner.

A sour smell filled the air, and the jailer shouted, "Defeated general Bau, kneel down and salute!"

That's right, the first veteran who was brought up was Bau who "died" in the battle of Sunset Town. During these days, he also heard about the changes in Shangyu Jiudi in prison, and learned that the little king Huai and the northern expedition army had succeeded.

For him, this incident must have made him feel disappointed. He really didn't expect that even though he was already "dead", he still couldn't escape from the chess game of Southern Xinjiang, and was resurrected in the dungeon of Qingliang Mansion in a very strange way.

Besides, he was also feeling uneasy and guilty, because he didn't know what the current situation of the veterans and brothers who followed him back was, whether they were all killed or imprisoned.

He also had no idea what method the little king used to revive himself or what the purpose of reviving himself was.

Fortunately, this destined meeting finally came, and he didn't have to wonder about it anymore.

"Kneel down!" The jailer stared and shouted again.

Bau stood at the door and clenched his fists, but he saw King Huai just staring at him calmly without saying a word.

After a while, he decisively chose to "follow his heart", bent his knees, knelt down and shouted: "Defeated General Bau, I pay my respects to His Majesty King Huai."

When Ren Ye saw his reaction, he completely relaxed, but still did not order him to stand up. He only said softly: "The nine lands of Shangyu are all in my hands. After the celebration banquet, the first person I will see is you. We can talk about the rest later, you can meet some people first."

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned his head to look at the prison boss behind him and winked at him.

Upon seeing this, the prison boss immediately ran to the door, pulled open the iron door of the torture room, and shouted a few words loudly.

Soon, more than a hundred people entered from the dungeon entrance and walked past the door of the torture chamber one by one.

When Bau looked back at these people, his whole body was shaking and tears of excitement after ecstasy flowed from his eyes.

He never expected that his family was still alive and well, and that they had not suffered any physical pain. Among the more than 100 people, there were his children, wives, close relatives, etc. Almost every face was someone he cared about...

"master."

The wife called out from outside the door, and said simply, "Your Highness Prince Huai is kind and virtuous, there is no doubt about that."

Obviously, before they met, Ren Ye and Huang Ge had already conquered Bau's eldest wife. Her words were worth a hundred words from Ren Ye.

Bau shed turbid tears and nodded to his family members.

"Everyone go out and wait." The prison boss waved his hand and closed the door.

In the room, Ren Ye was sitting on a chair, eating cakes, and said in a very casual manner: "After conquering Shangyu County, Guan Feng died, Han Chan was captured, and your family members were also protected by me, and were taken to Qingliang Mansion as soon as possible. Let me be frank, I want to use you, and use you in a big way."

"If you are willing, I will promote you to the second military officer of Qingliang County, the governor position, second only to Old Liu. In the future, the formation of the Earth Dragon Army will be entirely handed over to you. When the army is trained, you will be in charge." Ren also took a sip of tea and said with a smile: "In terms of life, Qingliang Prefecture will plan a piece of land for you to build a governor's mansion to ensure that your family of more than 100 people, young and old, will live a worry-free life. Afterwards, I will also plead with the Emperor of Southern Xinjiang to try to release some of your veterans and generals to serve under you again. As long as the official rank and salary are within the scope of the regulations, you can decide them."

"Bau, you can get family, career, and self-realization here."

Ren Ye put down his teacup and said word by word, "In Southern Xinjiang, you were abandoned by the rich and powerful and were manipulated by others; but when you came to Qingliang Mansion, you yourself are the rich and powerful."

"Would you like to board this ship of mine?"

After the words fell, the prison boss standing aside really wanted to kneel down and shout: "Grandpa, I'll do it!"

However, after comparing the difference in ability between himself and Bau, he wisely chose to shut up.

At the door, Bau knelt on the ground, kowtowed with tears in his eyes, and shouted: "General Bau, I pay my respects to my Lord!"

When talking to smart people, there is no need to talk so much.

As for Bau, he had long been tortured and driven crazy by the court struggles in southern Xinjiang, and had nowhere else to go.

I had no choice but to return to my hometown. Now that I have received such generous treatment and attention, what else can I talk about? To say one more word is to be ignorant and stupid.

Moreover, he was very grateful to Ren. Although the other party lacked talents, it didn't necessarily have to be him, Bau. At this moment, King Huai could choose him, which was a great favor.

At the same time, he was grateful to himself in his heart. He was grateful that he had fought in the southern border to defend his country and won a great reputation; he was also grateful that he had studied hard and practiced hard, and was familiar with the art of war, which allowed him to have an extra way out when he was in a desperate situation.

Now it seems that all my misfortunes and setbacks seemed to be waiting for this moment.

Life, life is like a mountain and a river, and when you think there is no way out, you will find a way out. Fortunately, fortunately!

After Ren Ye heard Bau's response, he walked up to him and helped him up personally: "Shenzhou is so big, I will go with you from now on."

Ba Wu clasped his fists and bowed: "I, Ba Wu, swear to the heavens that from now on, wherever King Huai points, that is where I will ride my horse to."

"Good, good."

Ren nodded solemnly, contented.

Soon, Bau left the cell and the first thing he asked when he saw his wife was, "How much money is left in the house?"

"I haven't calculated it carefully," Mrs. Ba replied, "but it should be enough to buy a town. What's the matter, sir?"

"Just keep some money you need for your future life and donate the rest." Bau said decisively.

"Why... why is this happening?"

"Your Highness has taken over all the nine lands of Shangyu, so you must not have enough money to deal with the aftermath. Instead of asking others to take it, it is better to donate it." Bau waved his hand and said, "Besides, money will no longer be important in the future."

The wife looked distressed and said, "Master, this is all earned through our hard work!"

……

In the cell.

General Guo Feng, the former commander-in-chief of the nine regions of Shangyu, was now sitting on a straw mat, picking his smelly feet weakly.

Since he was "captured", he refused to eat or drink, and just went on a hunger strike to protest. After several days of torture, his body could no longer bear it. In addition, the prison was quite humid, and there were many ulcers on his skin.

Guo Feng is different from Bau. He is a real general of Daqian. He has no despair of the court, and he is in a high position and trusted by Emperor Jing. In addition, he has hated the land of Southern Xinjiang for half his life. He is upright and honest, so he naturally looks down on the little prince Huai who betrayed Daqian.

Ren Ye was also clear about this. Moreover, if Guo Feng had been very spineless when Shangyu County was captured, he might not have thought of recruiting him.

When evaluating and employing people, character should always be considered first.

"Squeak!"

Just when Guo Feng was wondering where Bau had gone, the cell door suddenly opened.

Outside, several jailers urged more than a dozen family members, "Go ahead, you can visit the prison at any time, and you can say whatever you want."

Guo Feng was stunned when he heard this, and when he looked up, he saw his father, mother, three wives and concubines, and six or seven children walking in.

"Master!"

"Son!"

"Dad, I thought you had been torn into pieces by five horses under the city gate!"

"...!"

When the group of people saw Guo Feng, they rushed up to him and cried loudly.

Guo Feng was also confused. After comforting his parents, he asked, "You... why are you here?!"

The father, who was nearly 70 years old, grabbed his son's hand and said miserably, "That day when the city was captured, the soldiers escorted us away. We had just run less than 20 miles when we were caught by the bandits. Their expressions... Damn it, the bandits whipped me twice on the head, leaving my skin torn and flesh exposed. I almost died."

Guo Feng's face darkened when he heard this: "This King Huai is really hateful. I will never...!"

"Son, wait a moment." His father looked at him with tearful eyes and asked softly, "Now that you have been captured alive, what are your plans?"

Guo Feng said proudly: "I am a general of Daqian, and I have been blessed by the emperor to command the troops of the nine regions of Shangyu. In this life, I will never fight for King Huai for a single day or offer a single strategy."

After she finished speaking, Mrs. Guo sobbed and replied, "Master, have you ever thought about our situation?"

“At worst, I’ll die again, sharing the same death limb with my loved ones. This will ensure I don’t let down the emperor or my hometown.” Guo Feng’s anus was torn.

"If we can die, that would be good." Dad replied with red eyes: "The problem is that it is difficult for us to die even if we want to."

"Why?" Guo Feng raised his eyebrows.

"Son, the King Huai said that if you surrender, you will be offered a high position and generous salary. If you don't surrender, your father and I will go to the brothels to be pimps and madams." The old mother sat cross-legged on the ground, crying and shouting, "I am already seventy-three years old. If I go to the brothels with your father, I will not be able to face my ancestors when I die. Besides... we have no experience in this kind of business. If we don't do a good job, your father will inevitably be whipped and dipped in cold water again."

Guo Feng was stunned and speechless for a long time.

"The King also said that we sisters should go to the brothels together to serve those prostitutes and wash their underwear and menstrual belts." Madam Guo wailed, "Master, I am not afraid of hardship, but I am afraid of bringing shame to you! What if a drunkard takes a fancy to us...what should we do?!"

Guo Feng gritted his teeth.

"Daddy, King Huai wants to build three wonders and wants to send all my brothers and sisters like me into the army to carry huge rocks." The eldest son cried out, "Daddy, I don't want to carry huge rocks and be sent into the army!"

"Son, there is no way your father will ever be a pimp in this life!"

"Master, there are all kinds of people in the brothel, how can we women protect ourselves?"

"Dad... the rock is too heavy. We will die from exhaustion!"

"...!"

A group of people cried and shouted again, grabbed Guo Feng's shoulders and arms, and shook him violently.

After a while, Guo Feng covered his face and sighed, "…King Huai's plan is fatal! A bunch of burdens, it is difficult for me to fulfill my reputation as a loyal general."

"Snapped!"

The old man went up to me and slapped me in the face, shouting, "Filial piety comes first. How can a person without filial piety be loyal to the emperor? I raised you up, and now you say I'm a burden?!"

……

An hour later.

Guo Feng entered the Xing room.

"Kneel down!" the jailer shouted with his eyes wide open.

Guo Feng clenched his fists, his lips trembling as he said, "Can you please stop my parents from becoming pimps and brothels?"

Ren Ye didn't even raise his head, just ate his cake and replied: "You are a defeated general, we are on the verge of life and death, what right do you have to negotiate with me? I have already been merciful by not letting your father breed the war horses."