CHAPTER 129: CHAPTER 82: RETURN FROM RECRUITING TROOPS AND HORSES_2

"Wait, Blind Bei, I trust your deductions and plans. But there’s one thing: how are you so sure that the Yan Emperor would rather remove these nobles forcefully than use a more gentle approach?"

"The power of these noble families, on the surface, lies in the vast tracts of land and other means of production they own, as well as the large peasant populations tied to these lands and, consequently, to them. In reality, their true strength comes from their monopoly over local economies, education, culture, and paths to official careers."

"If he were to simply adopt a gentle policy or use military power to force temporary concessions from the nobles, it might appear as if the Yan State is avoiding the damage from an internal purge. In truth, however, it would merely be deferring the problem to future generations—a clear case of shirking responsibility."

"Moreover, as the Sixth Prince mentioned, his Second Prince is a down-to-earth person. This implies that the Yan Emperor has no intention of leaving these problems for his descendants to solve. He is determined to resolve all of them himself, bearing all the credit and blame alone."

"It’s a shame that Yan doesn’t have political newspapers. Otherwise, I’d invite you to write a column; I’m sure the sales would be high," Zheng Fan jested.

"My lord, you flatter me. Perhaps blind people are more prone to mulling things over in their minds."

"So you’re saying that this Yan Emperor has the makings of a great sovereign, one for the ages?"

"Absolutely."

Pausing for a moment, Blind Bei added, "Moreover, he has something most great emperors throughout history lacked: the Earl of North Border, who commands a substantial military force."

"Then, we..."

"When Qin vanquished the Six States, it was Han that reaped the benefits. When Sui pacified the lands, it was Tang that inherited its legacy."

"What you’ve said gets my blood pumping. No, no, I need a drink to calm down."

Being with Blind Bei, Zheng Fan experienced what the Sixth Prince must feel when facing him—repeatedly provoked into believing he was a man of destiny, that not rebelling or establishing his own authority would be an injustice to his life, an injustice to the very air he breathed.

Leaving the city tower, Zheng Fan returned to the inner residence of Mei Village. There were no outsiders present. In fact, because they were preparing to move south, Blind Bei had even shut down the service station business that Mei Village originally operated along the main road.

Zheng Fan poured himself a glass of wine and added two ice cubes. Making ice using the local method with saltpeter wasn’t difficult, and Zheng Fan and his men were all connoisseurs of pleasure who naturally wouldn’t deprive themselves.

Initially, Blind Bei had planned to reveal these novelties to develop businesses and generate income later. However, with the Sixth Prince as a strong backer, money was unlikely to be an issue. So, he’d given up on starting new ventures, content to occasionally present an interesting curio to the Sixth Prince in exchange for funds.

One gulp of the iced wine sent a shiver through him, his head spinning pleasantly. This sensation is truly wonderful, he thought.

Zheng Fan didn’t rush back to the city tower to undergo more of Blind Bei’s "persuasion." Instead, he turned into a room in the inner residence and pushed open the door.

The room was quite dark. In the center stood a curtained enclosure.

Zheng Fan lifted the curtain and went in, seeing Siniang and Liang Cheng busy around Shatuo Queshi.

Zheng Fan had seen Shatuo Queshi after arriving at Mei Village from Hutou City the day before yesterday. However, the once disheveled man had remained standing there, motionless, ever since.

According to Xue Three, on that rainy night, while he and Blind Bei were entertaining themselves by singing Yue Opera, Shatuo Queshi had fallen from the sky, much like Lin Daiyu.

For some reason, these past few days, Zheng Fan felt a strange sense of reassurance whenever he entered this room and saw Shatuo Queshi. Perhaps, deep down, Zheng Fan knew that his seven demon lords each had their own thoughts and their own agendas.

In this world, so far, perhaps only this man, who called himself a barbarian from the desert, was genuinely willing to help him. There were no special deals, no complicated interests involved. It was purely because he found Zheng Fan agreeable. This kind of relationship was very pure, and thus very comforting.

Siniang had been busy these past few days repairing Shatuo Queshi’s body. Her needlework skills were certainly being put to good use here.

According to Liang Cheng, the best method for recovery was still to find an opportunity for Shatuo Queshi to kill, to drink blood, and to use the baleful aura and blood nourishment to facilitate his body’s self-repair.

But there was nowhere to find people to kill right now. They couldn’t very well take Shatuo Queshi to the desert to wipe out some barbarian tribes, could they? Zheng Fan truly couldn’t bring himself to do something so monstrous; it was too inhuman.

"Has he awakened yet?" Zheng Fan asked Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng shook his head. "He might be in a state of self-imposed withdrawal."

"Why?"

"Because he doesn’t know how to face what he has become, and perhaps doesn’t want to."

Liang Cheng gave a reply tinged with a strong artistic sentiment.

"My lord, should I give him a bit of a touch-up?" Siniang asked.

Logically speaking, this was supposed to be a "godfather" their lord had acknowledged. Actually, the demon lords weren’t particularly opposed to their lord acknowledging father figures on the outside; in fact, they rather approved of it. Seniority and such, what did it matter? Who cared? AHEM, AHEM, well, except for that idiot Mo Wan. If their lord could find another group of Third Rank godfathers, Blind Bei would probably be so overjoyed he wouldn’t know North from South.