IDWBE -Chapter 280 Remaining Behind

Xiao Xizi said, “Your Highness may rest assured. I will certainly make Prince Yong’an understand Your Highness’s painstaking intentions.”

“Good,” Lin Yi nodded. “Young people who haven’t been beaten by society are the most prone to hotheadedness. They don’t know what should be done and what shouldn’t.”

At Prince Yong’an’s age, one was most susceptible to adolescent delusions—and rebellion burned strongest then.

Not to mention, he was an imperial prince.

That alone gave him an extra dose of inexplicable confidence.

He looked obedient now, but who could guarantee that one day he wouldn’t think he was capable again and start entertaining the notion of ‘he can be replaced’?

That would be troublesome.

Better to give him a firm lesson in advance—crush even the thought before it could sprout.

Avoid fratricide in the future.

After all, Lin Yi considered himself a soft-hearted man.

Xiao Xizi added, “With such an elder brother as Your Highness, Prince Yong’an is truly fortunate.”

When He Jixiang entered and sat down, Lin Yi had already finished two steamed buns.

After finishing his meal and lifting his teacup, Lin Yi said to He Jixiang, “You know that Xu Liewu has unified the northern steppes?”

“I’ve heard a little from Pan Duo,” He Jixiang replied.

“Xu Liewu is ruthless,” Lin Yi said. “He unified the steppe in just eighteen years.”

“In my estimation,” He Jixiang said gravely, “Wadan will march south again soon. Yongzhou and Jinzhou hang by a thread.”

“I’ve heard that wherever the Wadan pass, not even grass survives?” Lin Yi asked.

“They are brutal and leave no survivors,” He Jixiang sighed. “Every city they capture is slaughtered. Blood flows like drifting logs.”

Lin Yi stood and paced to the doorway, staring at the increasingly scorching sun.

“I’ve decided—for now, I won’t return to Sanhe. Send word to Chen Desheng and Xing Keshou. Chen Desheng will govern Nanzhou; Xing Keshou will come to Wuzhou.”

Though his mother had overreacted somewhat the night before, she had been right about one thing: Wuzhou was also his foundation.

He could not favor one over the other.

Wuzhou had always been prosperous, filled with wealthy elites and talented men. If developed seriously, it would advance faster than Sanhe.

Perhaps even better.

He Jixiang asked, “What of the former Nanzhou Administration Commissioner Wu Lin, and Wuzhou’s Peng Guishou? How should they be handled?”

“Wu Lin?” Lin Yi snorted coldly. “That old man has embarrassed me time and again. Does he think I’m so easygoing? Let Chen Desheng take charge entirely in Nanzhou.”

Nanzhou could not rely solely on the young men Ji Zhuo, Jiang Zhen, and Wei Yishan. It needed an old fox like Chen Desheng to properly discipline the great clans.

Shen Chu, standing nearby, cupped his hands and said, “But Peng Guishou is willing to serve Your Highness loyally. Why not give him a chance?”

“Naive,” Lin Yi scoffed. “You believe such a man’s promises? He is ruthless, cunning, and insatiably greedy—utterly unusable. Besides, I’ve already confiscated his estate. His silver is in my pocket. Do you think he’d still be grateful? Even if I don’t kill him, I won’t keep him by my side to cause trouble.”

He paused. “Shen Junru, however, is decent. Let him assist Xing Keshou. And as for Yong’an’s Administration Commissioner Du Rong—do not trust him fully either.

“You must all understand: sometimes the one who kills you isn’t your enemy. It could be your pig of a teammate.”

The room burst into laughter.

He Jixiang asked, “Since Your Highness will not return to Sanhe, what are your immediate plans?”

Lin Yi replied calmly, “Leave ten thousand troops in Wuzhou to secure the entire province. The rest will garrison various regions. As for the civilian laborers—let them choose freely. They may come and go as they wish.”

“Your Highness is wise.” He Jixiang bowed and withdrew.

News that Prince He would remain in Jinling instead of returning to Sanhe caused an uproar among the Sanhe people.

Reactions were mixed.

Some were delighted—Jiangnan was prosperous, and staying meant opportunities to earn money.

Others were dissatisfied. Sanhe was their home base. How could they not return?

Most of the Sanhe laborers were camped outside the city walls, arguing noisily.

“Prince He is the King of Sanhe! If he doesn’t return, won’t everything fall into chaos?” Liu Banzi shouted, jumping up and down. “No, no—I must petition His Highness! He must return to Sanhe!”

“Exactly!” Wang Xiaoshuan chimed in. “These northerners don’t mean well. Better not risk offending His Highness. He should go back to Sanhe.”

“Yes, yes—”

“These northerners eat from your bowl and then flip it over! Born traitors!”

Voices overlapped in a roaring clamor.

Butcher Rong rubbed his forehead helplessly, climbed atop a cart piled high with grain, and raised his hands. “Everyone, hear me out!”

When the crowd quieted and turned to him, he suddenly roared, “The Prince already said—come and go as you please! What the hell are you arguing for? Stay if you want to stay! Go home if you want to go home! It’s that simple!”

Li Sanniang stepped forward with a cold snort. “Butcher Rong, you’re not originally from Sanhe. Easy for you to talk.”

“How am I not from Sanhe?” Butcher Rong bellowed. “Prince He said once you come, you’re Sanhe people! And what about the slogans painted all over Baiyun City’s streets—were they just for decoration?”

Li Sanniang snorted again. “Do you know what Sanhe used to be like? Barely clothed, barely fed, bandits everywhere!

“Butcher Rong, I’m not ashamed to admit it—I never wore a new dress before I turned thirty. Not even on my wedding day!”

“That’s right,” Butcher Jiang sighed. “Unless you’ve seen what Baiyun City was like before, you have no right to lecture us about being broad-minded.”

Liang Qingshu added darkly, “The consequences of Prince He not returning to Sanhe are beyond your imagination.”

Butcher Rong crossed his arms. “So what do you propose?”

Huang Daoji shouted, “What else? Beat the drums! Welcome Prince He back to Sanhe!”

“Beat the drums! Welcome Prince He back to Sanhe!”

The cry grew louder and louder—even the tribal people who had suffered heavy losses in the northern campaign joined in.

Drums thundered outside Jinling’s walls. The bewildered locals, not knowing what was happening, piled even more sandbags behind their tightly shut doors.

Bao Kui stood atop the city wall, gazing coldly at the densely packed Sanhe laborers below.

When the drumming ceased, he pointed toward the wide-open city gates and said lazily, “If you have something to say, come into the city. I can’t hear you out there.”

His voice was not loud, yet carried clearly to every person below, propelled by internal energy.

It was the technique of “Lingering Echo Around the Beams” from the Lion’s Roar skill—something he had learned from a monk.