You're Counting on the Willing to Take the Bait!

Shen Tao coughed and said, "Master, you still like to coax children?"

Zhou Wanwan said, "Is this an ordinary child? This is the Prince of Dai, he has a fiefdom, six cities!"

Dai Wangchao chuckled at Zhou Wanwan, "Sister, I'm hungry."

Zhou Wanwan led him into the house and then had someone bring him some food.

This king ate voraciously.

Zhou Wanwan looked at the Prince of Dai and asked, "Is it delicious? Haven't you eaten before?"

The Prince of Dai kept his head down and continued eating. Only after he finished did he raise his head and say, "One should not speak while eating or sleeping."

Zhou Wanwan thought the child was quite amusing.

She looked at the Old Scholar Tree beside her and said, "Uncle Scholar Tree, do you think there's any way to cure his brain condition?"

The Old Scholar Tree looked again and said:

"There is a way to treat him; he was beaten up like this."

All that's needed is to remove the blood clot in his brain.

Soon, the Prince was pulled into a room, where the Old Scholar Tree slowly cleared the blood clots from his brain.

Zhou Wanwan kept delivering the medicinal herbs.

The juices from the medicinal herbs slowly flowed into the brain, clearing away the stagnant blood.

Two hours later, the Prince of Dai finally woke up.

He stared blankly at Zhou Wanwan Zhou Wanwan, who looked at him and said, "I'm your sister, your only family. Do you still remember me?"

The Prince of Dai smiled faintly and said, "I remember, sister, you are my own sister."

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "There's a contract of servitude here, why don't you sign it?"

The Prince of Dai hesitated for a moment before replying, "Alright."

Since the Prince of Dai became Zhou Wanwan's servant, the six cities under her control naturally became hers.

Shen Tao, standing nearby, muttered softly, "Isn't this setting a trap for the child?"

Zhou Wanwan grinned and said, "It's not a trap! It's a willing bidder! Prince Dai, you did it voluntarily, right?"

The Prince of Dai nodded and said, "I did it voluntarily."

Shen Tao looked at the Prince of Dai with curiosity and asked, "After the blood clot in your brain is cleared, do you still remember things from before?"

The Prince of Dai nodded and said, "I remember. My brain was damaged by my mother. She hit me on the head with a vase."

Shen Tao hissed and said, "Your mother is quite ruthless! She hit so hard."

The Prince of Dai sighed and said:

"So I'm staying here willingly."

I'm willing to give you my fiefdom without expecting anything in return, since you saved me.

Zhou Wanwan looked at Shen Tao and said, "See? Our main principle is voluntariness. I will never force anyone."

Shen Tao's lips twitched. "I get it. You're all about getting the willing to take the bait! I wonder how many people you've fooled."

Zhou Wanwan said, "Oh? Then you're wrong. I never lie; I'm just telling the truth."

Shen Tao expressed disbelief. "Those people in the imperial court practically worship you as a god. How did you manage to do that?"

Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said:

"You'll have to ask them about that. I don't know either. I really don't want to be emperor. It's not Versailles."

I really don't want to be an emperor; I think being an emperor is too tiring.

Zhao Kun, standing to the side, asked, "What is Versailles?"

Zhou Wanwan chuckled and said:

"Sometimes a few internet slang terms pop up in my head."

Being an emperor is exhausting; if you do well, you're fine, but if you do poorly, you'll be criticized.

I was forced into this role; if I didn't do it, my veteran advisors would cry in front of me for a whole day.

Some people wish they could die to prove their innocence.

Shen Tao said softly, "Looks like you're having a tough time, huh? But I think being the emperor is great! Running around all day."

Zhou Wanwan shook her head and said:

"You don't understand. What I did was called a covert investigation, a business trip. It wasn't work; I was going out to be a beast of burden."

"Look, can these few cities near Yanmen Pass really become a country?"

Shen Tao continued, "If I were you, I would devour the entire Great Xia."

Zhou Wanwan looked at Shen Tao and said:

"I'm a woman. How many women in ancient times have you ever seen become emperors?"

Moreover, those old-fashioned officials in the imperial court will definitely have opinions about me.

And how could those powerful and influential families of Great Xia be willing to let me sit on the throne?

"At that point, you won't know whether to kill those people or not."

Shen Tao thought about it and agreed.

If Zhou Wanwan were to become the emperor of the Great Xia Kingdom, she would inevitably need to use the officials of the Great Xia Kingdom Great Xia Kingdom, but none of those officials were her people.

For her, being a good emperor was an impossible task.

But things are different now; the people here at Yanmen Pass are all her trusted confidants.

She can build whatever she wants.

Moreover, the Yanmen Pass where she was located was also the best place, because it was the border area of the four kingdoms of Great Qi, Great Xia, the Mobei Uyghur, and the Western Rong.

Recently, people from not only Great Qi and Great Xia have arrived, but also from other two countries.

With people from all four countries combined, it'll be quite a lively scene.

As long as there isn't constant fighting at Yanmen Pass like before, those people are still quite willing to come Yanmen Pass.

But getting the people from these four countries together and preventing them from fighting is an even greater challenge.

Shen Tao said:

"A portion of the Great Qi army is already here with us."

"The army of Great Xia is probably on your side, along with the armies of the other two countries."

Zhou Wanwan said:

"They're all here with me! Oh dear, we're all family. Now they're all gathered together, training, practicing, sparring, and exchanging ideas every day."

How about I take you to see it?

Shen Tao had no idea what it would be like to have soldiers from four different countries together.

Zhao Kun didn't even dare to think about it.

Zhou Wanwan led them to a camp, which was where soldiers from the four countries gathered.

The camp was very large, located in Huaishuo City, which itself covered a vast area.

The area is poor and the water is harsh, because there is no water source, so crops cannot grow.

Now Zhou Wanwan is using those trees to guide the river and divert the water.

Now, Huaishuo City is filled with all kinds of crops, vegetables, and fruits.

This is also where one or two million soldiers gather.

You can imagine how lively this place will be.

However, there are no entertainment venues here.

As Zhou Wanwan led them inside, they saw that the city gate was surrounded by layers upon layers of soldiers, all looking on guard.

Upon seeing Zhou Wanwan, all of them immediately knelt down on the ground.

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "No need for formalities! I just came in to take a look."

The city gates opened quickly, and Zhou Wanwan led them inside.

Upon entering Huaishuo City, the scene before one's eyes is completely different from that of cities within the Great Wall.

This area was originally a military camp that expanded into a settlement, and there are no rows of neat, continuous brick houses here.

The loess roads extend in all directions, with houses arranged in different sections on both sides.

On one side was the small courtyard of the military dependents, with a wicker fence surrounding the house. Women sat in front of the door mending and drying grain, while children played around.

A large open space nearby was densely packed with tents and yurts of various colors, serving as the landing sites for the four countries' respective districts.

In the very center was a spacious market area, with simple wooden sheds filled with goods.

Zhou Wanwan said:

"These soldiers are not allowed to go out normally. If they need to buy things, they will buy them together at this market."

That side was where officials' families lived, and the other side was farmland.

This entire city was a strategically important military location.

Zhou Wanwan led them inside, and they saw soldiers drilling from time to time; the drills here were very rigorous.

We practice once every morning and once every evening, and sometimes we do extra practice.

There are also horseback archery, hand-to-hand combat, military strategy, and battle formations; these are all compulsory courses.

Of course, ordinary soldiers don't need to learn this much, but if they want to rise in rank, they must.

Zhao Tiangui couldn't take his eyes off it. "Oh! This is great! It's so wonderful to be in this army!"

Zhou Wanwan looked at Zhao Tiangui and said, "If you want to join the army, I'll take you to the Yan Mountain Academy later."