"Could it have been that young man from earlier?"
Everyone's expressions changed. Had that young man really gone to kill the mountain bandits?
A few young men wanted to help, but their families held them back. If the bandits caught them, the consequences would be unthinkable. They could die.
Only after the fire had burned for a long time did the people finally give in and sneak up the mountain.
At the sight of bandit corpses covering the ground, the common people stood as dumb as wooden chickens. Then they couldn't help breaking into cheers.
"Heavens, the bandits on the mountain have all been killed! That young man was telling the truth."
"Heaven has opened its eyes! Those dogs are finally dead."
"What do you mean, Heaven opened its eyes? We met an important person, one who takes pity on us common folk!"
"Quick, look here! Someone left a banner! What does it say? Someone who can read, come over here!"
"Xiliang!"
"What's the Xiliang army? Aren't we in Northern Liang? How come I've never heard of it? Does anyone know?"
"I do, I do! The last time I went to Northern Liang City to sell tiger pelts, I heard that Lin Yi, the Prince of Northern Liang's heir, calls his troops the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. They say this place was renamed Xiliang Commandery because of the heir, too."
"Could that young man from earlier have been the Prince of Northern Liang's heir?"
"So it wasn't that Heaven opened its eyes. The heir took pity on us and wiped out the bandits?"
"That's wonderful! Hope has finally come to our Xiliang."
Tears streamed down the faces of several old people. The person they had met was actually the heir, the official charged with looking after Xiliang Commandery. They had never imagined he would show such pity for the people and send men specifically to wipe out the bandits.
It gave them hope. If the heir was determined to put his full strength into wiping out the bandits, life in Xiliang would be much easier from now on.
At that moment, a middle-aged man frowned and said quietly, "I heard some people are preparing to join forces against the heir. If they harm him, won't we be left without hope again?"
"Damn it, those dogs only know how to throw their weight around among their own people. Why would they go after someone as good as the heir?"
"I think my son joined them. I'm going to call him back, or I'll break his legs!"
The crowd burst into curses. Those people really were no good, going after someone as good as the heir.
Lin Yi naturally knew nothing about this. He was immersed in bliss, because system notifications had come pouring in, covering the heavens and the earth.
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for winning people over through martial might and wiping out the Heng Mountain bandits who plagued the people. Reward: five hundred Yellow Turban troops."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for winning people over through martial might and wiping out the Jade Wave Pool bandits who plagued the people. Reward: fifteen hundred Yellow Turban troops."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for winning people over through martial might and wiping out the Luan Peak bandits who plagued the people. Rewards: one thousand elite Yellow Turban troops and the elite general Zhou Cang."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for winning people over through martial might and wiping out the Autumn Mountain bandits who plagued the people. Reward: eight hundred Yellow Turban troops."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for winning people over through martial might and wiping out the Great Yu Mountain bandits who plagued the people. Reward: three thousand Yellow Turban troops."
"..."
"Ding! Congratulations to the host for winning people over through virtue and earning the gratitude of Xiliang's people. Reward: ten thousand jin of sweet potatoes."
When all the rewards had appeared, Lin Yi was stunned. Wiping out a dozen or so bands of mountain bandits had actually earned him nearly twenty thousand Yellow Turban troops. That was a little terrifying.
He had also obtained a general, Zhou Cang.
Zhou Cang was a general from the Yellow Turban Army. Although he wasn't a first-rate general, his defense was quite good, and he could take a tremendous beating. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to withstand three thrusts from Zhao Yun's spear.
It was said that Zhou Cang had challenged Zhao Yun to single combat to avenge Pei Yuanshao, only for Zhao Yun to immediately stab a hole through him with his spear.
Who would have thought Zhou Cang wouldn't care at all? He grabbed a handful of mud, plugged the wound, and kept fighting. Zhao Yun stabbed him again, but Zhou Cang gritted his teeth and fought on. He endured three spear thrusts head-on, making him a meat-shield-class general for sure.
Zhao Yun's martial prowess was no joke. Not many people could withstand three thrusts from his spear.
Of course, Zhou Cang was even better known for another role: he was Second Master Guan's follower.
Born with divine strength, he became Guan Yu's personal blade bearer after joining him, carrying none other than the Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
He was also very loyal and righteous. After Guan Yu died, he immediately cut his own throat to follow him. He was loyal beyond compare.
A person like that was quite lovable.
"System, why are you being so generous this time? Wiping out a band of mountain bandits actually dropped as many as three thousand troops, and you even threw in a general?" Lin Yi asked the system directly. If the rewards were always this powerful, he could just make a profession of wiping out bandits from now on.
Ding!
The system notified him, "Host, please note that apart from the elite troops, the Yellow Turban troops awarded by the system have extremely limited combat strength. They are only a little better than ordinary commoners."
Fuck!
The corner of Lin Yi's mouth twitched. He took a closer look at the rewards and found that only a thousand really were elite troops. He had gotten excited for nothing.
No wonder the system was so generous. It had given him more than twenty thousand civilians.
Still, that wasn't bad. With a little training, he could select some elites from those twenty thousand civilians, and the rest could be used to cultivate farmland.
As it happened, he had obtained ten thousand jin of sweet potatoes, and he still had the potatoes from before. They could be used as reserve provisions. With these two high-yield crops, he believed he would never have to worry about a shortage of food again.
The only pity was that he hadn't been rewarded with high-yield varieties of rice and wheat. Those two were more to Lin Yi's taste. But for the common people, having anything to eat was good enough, so there was naturally no need to worry about that.
After he finished checking his rewards, he finally reached his destination: the Xiliang governor's residence.
Looking at the thoroughly dilapidated residence and the old general at the entrance, who had only a few teeth left, Lin Yi couldn't help twitching the corner of his mouth. The old man had really set him up.
"My lord, because the prince did not govern this place, no commandery governor was appointed before. There was only an old general stationed here to guard it," Wang Yue explained quietly when he saw his lord's expression.
Lin Yi was speechless. The old general certainly lived up to his title-even his teeth were almost all gone.
This was rather awkward. There wasn't even a governor's residence, only a ramshackle government office.
Seemingly discerning Lin Yi's thoughts, the old general said shakily, "Forgive me, Your Highness. The prince said that if Your Highness wishes to establish an independent household, you must go from extravagance to frugality."
Uh!
Lin Yi sighed. His father was far too ruthless. This way of making him establish an independent household was simply unbeatable.
But seeing the old general trembling like that, he couldn't very well say much. If the old man got worked up, he looked liable to die at any moment.
Lin Yi could only give a dry laugh and say, "Old General, didn't the chief steward say my father had a new residence built for me?"
"In answer to Your Highness, that is indeed true. However, urgent military matters arose partway through construction, so everyone was transferred away," the old general explained with a nod, pointing to an empty plot of land not far away, where faint signs of construction could be seen.
Damn!
Lin Yi's face turned green. They had barely started; there were only a few wooden stakes. How the hell did that count as a residence?
The old man had really outdone himself. He was actually planning to make him build everything from scratch.
He gave a dry laugh. "You should rest first, Old General. Let me get settled before anything else. This dilapidated place is hardly fit to live in."
"No, once I've handed over my duties, I'll return to Northern Liang to spend my remaining years. I've guarded this place for Northern Liang for nearly twenty years. I can't keep guarding it anymore. It's time to go back." A little more of a smile appeared on the old general's face as he spoke solemnly.
Lin Yi was instantly filled with respect. The old man had silently stood guard for Northern Liang all these years. He was a man of great merit.
He looked at Wang Yue and said gravely, "Send someone to escort the old general safely to Northern Liang City. You must ensure his safety. He is a man of great merit."
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Wang Yue nodded. Looking at the frail old man, he too felt immense respect. This was a man who had guarded Northern Liang with his life. Someone like him deserved respect.