I Have a Date with a Thousand-year-old Female Corpse-Chapter 1879 - 1880: A Sinister Smile

Chapter 1879: Chapter 1880: A Sinister Smile
Zhang Zhao remained silent, still looking at you.
After you took a deep breath, you spoke slowly, "I won’t elaborate on other matters, as it’s far from that level yet. The only thing I can say is that from now on, Xuzhou is my territory, Li Muyun’s territory. All the people in Xuzhou are my people, during my lifetime — or perhaps even longer — I will do my utmost, exert all my power, to ensure my people have food to fill their bellies, clothes to keep them warm, no exposure to the elements in their homes, and smooth roads to travel. As for the Emperor, he has nothing to do with you all, don’t expect me to be loyal to that ridiculous Han Dynasty; I can only be responsible for myself, my family, my people."
As soon as you finished speaking, Zhang Zhao stood solemnly, made a long bow towards you, and then said to you, "If the General is as he just stated, then I will entrust my old life to the General!"
After hearing this, you shifted quickly, appearing directly in front of Zhang Zhao, helped him up, and said to him, "I’m a rough man, haven’t read much, so from now on, I’ll rely on you for internal affairs."
"The Lord is too modest, I will do my utmost."
"Good! Good!" Hearing Zhang Zhao refer to you as Lord, you finally felt at ease; you thought you would have to spend a lot of time and effort to persuade Zhang Zhao, but now your eyes suddenly darted.
"By the way, just now you said you would do your utmost, does that mean you’re willing to help with any task?"
"Of course..."
Zhang Zhao’s words were uttered casually, but he realized his mistake afterwards, secretly thinking, "No, I’ve been tricked."
Sure enough, you smiled, an indecent, sinister smile: "I heard that you have a good private relationship with Zhao Yu and Wang Lang?"
"Indeed, that’s the case." Zhang Zhao could only brace himself to respond.
You clapped your hands and said with a smile, "I wonder if you could act as a mediator?"
Zhang Zhao sighed and said, "I have ways with Zhao Yu, but as for Wang Lang, we are merely acquaintances, not close friends. I ask the Lord to consider other means."
Zhang Zhao’s willingness to cooperate to this extent made you very happy; you had little hope initially, but didn’t expect Zhang Zhao to be so cooperative. After hearing his words, you nodded and said with a smile, "Since that’s the case, I’ll leave Zhao Yu to you, and I will personally meet Wang Lang. Meanwhile, you all have been startled, so rest at home for a couple of days."
"No need, I’m very healthy, I don’t have any peculiar ailments. I can accompany the Lord to Xuzhou tomorrow."
"Good!" You looked at Zhang Zhao, feeling fortunate for not choosing the wrong person.
"General, I have a humble request, and I hope the General will grant it!"
At this moment, Zhang Cheng stepped forward again and knelt before you.
You looked down at Zhang Zhao’s eldest son, who seemed no older than sixteen or seventeen. Although he appeared rather youthful, people matured early in ancient times; perhaps he was already married and had children at what would be a youthful age in later generations. His eyes were locked onto yours, shining with clear pleading light, "I sincerely ask you to allow me to follow you!"
Zhang Cheng’s words could be said to represent the sentiments of today’s majority of young people from poor families across the Nine Provinces. Your reputation precedes you, even though eminent scholars express mixed feelings about you, mostly observing you with an evaluative stance. To young people from poor families, you are a constant monument, a hero, an irreplaceable existence!
Glancing at Zhang Zhao by your side, and seeing that Zhang Zhao didn’t object, you placed your hand on Zhang Cheng’s shoulder and said softly with a smile, "You should know, I’m someone who seeks excitement, often charging at the forefront of war. You may have to face death at any moment. Are you afraid?"
"A man should do what must be done, and not do what mustn’t be done!" Zhang Cheng’s expression was resolute, showing not a hint of hesitation.
"Good!" You gave Zhang Cheng’s shoulder a firm slap, saying with a smile, "If so, then you will first join my personal guard team, and after a while, undergo systematic training."
"Training?" Zhang Cheng’s eyes widened in apparent interest.
"Why so much nonsense?" With these words, Xiao San quickly stepped up behind you, dragged Zhang Cheng away, and threw him directly onto the personal guard team members behind him.
You smiled, remained silent, and moved forward quickly.
Without making any stops in Pengcheng, after leaving Zhang Zhao’s residence, you mounted your horse and headed back to Xuzhou City. Zhang Zhao departed later, as he still had many matters to attend to and had to instruct his household carefully. Of course, Zhang Cheng wasn’t included in those instructions, as he hadn’t brought anything, and simply rode with a personal guard, returning to Xuzhou with you.
Back in Xuzhou City, you promptly headed to Wang Lang’s residence in Eastern Sea County.
Actually, you yourself also detest such hurried travels, and you aren’t keen on dealing with these so-called men of renown, but your regime has only just been established and must rely on these eminent individuals, also needing their assistance in domestic affairs. After all, you have too few capable people around you. Even though you’ve posted recruitment notices, you understand that you won’t be able to recruit many individuals in the short term.
Now that Xuzhou has a new ruler, you are concerned that various factions might seize the opportunity to raid Xuzhou, so you can only travel day and night.
Wang Lang used to serve under Tao Qian, but with Tao Qian’s passing, nearly seventy percent of his former regime was swept away by you, leaving only Cao Bao’s direct subordinates. Wang Lang had a poor relationship with a person named Zhang Cheng under Cao Bao, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, he resigned immediately, even shut off contact with the outside world.
That night, Wang Lang was having dinner with his family; initially, everyone was joyfully chatting, but soon noises from outside made the family stop eating.
"Ah-San, go out and see who’s making a commotion outside in the middle of the night." Wang Lang, about ten years older than Zhang Zhao, had three sons and a daughter, along with two grandsons and a granddaughter. The whole family was in the dining hall at this moment.
The lower-class man Ah-San complied, went to the front courtyard, and when he opened the door, he found the outside ablaze with firelight, many soldiers on intimidatingly tall horses had surrounded their residence completely.
"Master, it’s not good!" Ah-San panicked, closed the door tightly, and stumbled his way back to the dining hall.
"Why so frantic?" A thirtyish man beside Wang Lang hurriedly stood up; he was Wang Lang’s eldest son, Wang Su.
"Father, it’s all your fault, look, the soup is spilled." Sitting to Wang Su’s left was an eleven or twelve-year-old pink-cheeked little girl, who pouted adorably, full of displeasure.
Seeing this, Wang Lang couldn’t help but comfort her with a laugh, "Don’t be angry, Yuan Ji; let your father apologize to you later."