Ch. 371..375: The Princess of Northern Land Chapter 371-375

Chapter 371: Chapter 371: King Ling Takes Action (4)_1

"They’re all fools." Zhang Da received a message from below, the fury drove him to overturn the table.

He didn’t expect Chu Suifeng to be so ruthless. The prince would actually give up the Zhang Family and other grand aristocratic families, and choose some new nobles instead. Since the prince was merciless, he shouldn’t blame the Zhang Family for being unjust.

"Take my invitations to the Ji Family, Xia Family, and other residences."

The servant immediately went to deliver the invitations according to his instructions.

The significant families of Feng City gathered again to discuss matters.

In July, villagers from Shili Village were so ecstatic that they could wake up laughing from their dreams. The crops in their fields grew excellently, much better than in previous years. Not to mention the pleasant growth of the new rice variety, even the soybeans and corn were fresh and vigorous. Under Lin Ziyin’s suggestion, the villagers planted various beans or vegetables and sweet potatoes in all usable corners of their fields.

Apart from the paths, you could hardly see any uncultivated land in the village.

The villagers were delighted because every bean planted represented a handful of copper coins. The Lin Family had announced that as long as the beans grew well, they would buy them all.

Lin Ziyin cared more about the growth of the spring wheat. Since she had no experience with this crop, she did not plant many, but it was entirely a test field. From what she saw, the wheat seedlings were growing well, but she wasn’t sure about the final yield.

If spring wheat could be grown in the Northern Land, she would be more confident. Thinking about the vast uncultivated land in the Northern Land, Lin Ziyin was filled with hope.

"Mistress." A couple from the village came to her, "We would like to buy some long-haired sheep to raise. The elders in our family think it’s too boring to do nothing, they want to feed some sheep."

"Sure, you can pick a few from the sheep pen." The Lin family now raises sheep for their wool.

It was hot weather, and some families needed to shear their sheep. Lin Ziyin offered a pretty good price for the wool.

Families with elders, seeing the opportunity, came over wanting to buy some sheep to raise. Lin Ziyin agreed. The number of sheep she had brought back last time from Border City, along with the sheep sent by Chu Suifeng, was quite large. The sheep had also reproduced, and it would not affect her much to share some.

"Sister, the smell of sheep wool is so strong, what do you want it for?" Two months after getting married, Zige became pregnant. Another person with good news was Guo Huiniang, Ziyin’s sister-in-law. After being nursed back to health by Master Hui Zhen, Guo Huiniang was also pregnant.

"Wait till we have more wool, and you’ll see its benefits." Lin Ziyin answered with a smile.

Sheep wool is valuable. In the cold climate of the Northern Land, if the wool could be softened and made into woolen clothes, blankets, it could keep the people warm in winter and increase their income.

"The smell is a bit too strong." Zige pinched her nose, reluctant to stay in the room. "They are still clearing the new fields. What if they clear too much and can’t manage it?"

"No problem." Lin Ziyin answered with a laugh, "We could always hire more people."

"Too many people could also cause problems. If there are some extremely evil people among them, what will you do?" Zige worriedly looked at her.

"People sent here have all been screened by the prince." Lin Ziyin answered with a smile. She trusts Chu Suifeng because not only does she need people, but Chu Suifeng does too for his own estate.

With the addition of a group of people and the villagers working in the spring, Lin Ziyin was not afraid of being short of labour at home.

"You always have a plan. You make the decisions." Zige sighed slightly.

Chapter 372: Chapter 372: King Ling Takes Action (5)_1

"My lady, it’s time to go back," said a woman with a tattooed forehead respectfully to Lin Zige.

"Ziyin, I am leaving." Zige stood up to leave, and Xiangsao immediately came over to support her.

"Take good care of your lady," Ziyin instructed Xiangsao.

Xiangsao respectfully agreed, although it could be said that rather than being a servant of Zige, she was acquired by Lin Ziyin for their entire family. She was genuinely grateful to the Lin Family.

"Don’t tackle everything by yourself, leave the heavy work to Xiangsao and the others," Lin Ziyin advised her a few times.

"I know." Zige agreed and left with Xiangsao.

"Miss, not many people in the Northern Land raise sheep, so the wool we can gather is limited," said Konyi and the others when they arrived at the wool workshop with a dozen bags of wool not long after.

"That’s fine, this year’s amount will suffice," Lin Ziyin said with a smile. "We should be able to collect more wool gradually. As more families raise sheep next year, the situation will improve."

She opened the bags and found that the wool collected was of good quality. She then instructed Konyi, "Look for some quicklime tomorrow, let’s give it a try."

"Alright," Konyi agreed cheerfully.

"Miss, are we still making soy milk?" Jia Gu asked casually.

"Definitely not for now, we don’t have enough beans," Lin Ziyin replied, "We’ll have to wait until the second half of the season before the soybeans are harvested."

In order to gather enough beans, Lin Ziyin has been striving. Even in the remote wastelands, she instructed people to sow beans directly there, even though those lands hadn’t been properly cultivated.

Although results from sowing beans in the wasteland were not promising, the survival ability of beans is extraordinary. By autumn, there would certainly be a harvest.

The steps taken by Chu Suifeng’s estate essentially mirrored hers. Hei Yi also had people plant a large patch of beans randomly in the depths of the wasteland.

Thus it seemed, there would definitely be enough beans by autumn.

"Grandfather, eat more." As the weather got hot, Lin Ziyin grew smarter. During the winter season, she had already had a good number of big ice pits built, so every household including the Lin’s workshops and the main houses already had ice in the summer.

Summer’s heat did not affect the Lin family at all.

"After finishing your meal, get some good rest. You’ve lost weight recently," the old master urged, looking at the thinned Lin Ziyin with a sigh.

"Little sister, don’t solely focus on the farmlands. Leave it to the long-term workers. You’ve been indeed working too hard lately," warned Lin Changshu, frowning.

"Sister." Changting looked worriedly at her. "You should listen to grandfather and brother and rest for a few days."

"Aunt." Little Yanzhi looked at Ziyin anxiously.

"I always lose weight during the summer, but I’ll be fine," Lin Ziyin said, smiling.

Seeing her persistence, everyone else had no choice but to insist she rest after dinner.

Lin Ziyin didn’t want to make her family feel uncomfortable, so she went back to rest honestly.

To be honest, Lin Ziyin felt her life was extremely happy, even though it was busy and fulfilling.

She was indeed exhausted and fell into a deep sleep on the bed soon after.

In the silent night, a group of figures appeared in Shili Village.

"Woof woof woof." Suddenly, all the dogs in the kennel started barking wildly, causing panic amongst the other dogs. The barking woke the villagers and triggered the village dogs to join in the commotion.

"What should we do?" The man dressed in black asked his leader.

Chapter 373: Chapter 373: King Ling Takes Action (6)_1

"According to the plan, destroy the farmland, show no mercy to those who resist." The leader gave the command.

This group of men in black was different from the ones who had attacked Lin Ziyin before; the "weapons" they held in their hands were actually gleaming sickles.

And their target was not Shili Village, but the rice fields behind Shili Village.

"What’s going on?" He Fuxing was so frightened that he put on his clothes and got up, and Mrs. Yin was flustered and wanted to light a candle.

"Don’t light the candle." He Fuxing quietly ordered, took his training stick and went out.

Fearing the worst, Mrs. Yin prepared to wake up the children and daughters-in-law, but events took an unexpected turn. He Fuxing had barely opened the door when he saw his three sons and two daughters-in-law coming out, with the grandchildren being carried over as well.

"Stay in the room, don’t go anywhere, secure the doors, and grab something for defense." He Dingyi ordered Guihua, Chun Ling and Mrs. Yin, and even in the hands of two children there were the sticks usually used for martial arts training.

"Be careful." Mrs. Yin pulled her daughters-in-law and grandchildren into the room, then blocked the door with something, but her ears were kept open to catch any sounds outside.

The people of the Xu Family and the others staying behind to guard the fields also got up, and the ones who came out all held the weapons usually used for practicing martial arts in their hands.

Not far away, monks Jue Yuan and Jue Cong and others were already clashing with the men in black, with Jia Gu and others joining the fight.

Chen Liansheng and a few others who trained the army dogs had quietly released the dogs. Gougou, given its freedom, rushed up without any hesitation. These dogs were all trained and even knew how to cooperate. The men in black did not see these dogs coming, and many suffered major losses.

"You’re seeking death!" One of the men in black got a chunk of flesh on his calf ripped off by a dog, causing him so much pain that he could barely stand. His anger flaring, he swung the sickle in his hand at the Black Back Dog.

But after the Black Back Dog ripped a piece of flesh off him, it immediately jumped out of the way, and another Black Back Dog lunged forward and bit his arm. There was a scream, and the sickle in the man’s hand fell down. "Beast!" He changed his strategy, trying to use his Inner Strength to shake off the Black Back Dog, but the dog, just as clever, ran away after it had torn some flesh off the man.

The relief forces from Shili Village and Chu Suifeng’s manor arrived fast, and seeing the situation going south, the men in black immediately turned and fled.

"Let them go." Jue Yuan and others wanted to stop them, but they were hindered by Si Jinhan.

"What happened?" Lin Ziyin and Hong Ying and others also rushed over.

"Someone tried to destroy the crops in the fields." replied Jue Cong. Because the field has vegetables, and particularly rare ones like broccoli, chili, cherry tomatoes and the likes, there were always people arranged to stand guard, all with good martial arts skills, such as monks from Ding’an Temple, and subordinates from the Escort Bureau. They took turns standing guard in groups.

Actually, the villagers around all knew that almost everyone in Shili Village practiced martial arts, so it had always been quite peaceful in the fields. It was unexpected that something big happened tonight.

"Can these army dogs catch people?" Si Jinhan asked Lin Ziyin with a smug grin.

"Does the Third Young Master want to capture the man behind this?" Lin Ziyin asked.

"Right" Si Jinhan nodded his head, "Good thinking."

"We can give it a try." Lin Ziyin spoke with a smile, and walked towards the army dogs, every single one of them wagging their tails gently at her.

"Let Tiger, Wild Wolf and Blackie give it a shot, to also examine the results of their training at this stage." Lin Ziyin said fondly, while stroking the heads of the dogs.

Several dogs sat firmly with long tongues hanging out, solemnly squatting on the ground, protecting the person who trained them.

"Immediately go into the city." Si Jinhan signaled.

A carriage appeared in the darkness of the night, all who trained the dogs were people from Chu Suifeng’s army camp. Several soldiers promptly pulled their companions and the dogs onto the carriage.

Chapter 374: Chapter 374: King Ling Takes Action (7)_1

"Damn these bastards." Seeing the sickles left behind by the black-clad men on the ground, the villagers cursed. They had been delighting in how well their various crops were growing, but they hadn’t expected this to stir envy in others. "They even planned to set fire, even preparing firewood."

Some spotted piles of firewood around the cornfield.

"Fortunately, we were vigilant, and they didn’t succeed." Some breathed a sigh of relief.

"We must practice harder from now on. These bastards may very well return."

"Yes."

...

The villagers were grateful that many had chosen to learn martial arts from the Lin family. Although many were past their prime, the close combat techniques taught were undeniably practical. Furthermore, the breathing method Master Hui Zhen from Ding’an Temple taught greatly fortified them after a year of practice. Everyone, children and teenagers particularly, found these techniques invaluable.

"Don’t take the patrol of the fields lightly," Lin Ziyin sighed. Looking at the burglars’ skills, they were probably not ordinary people. Chu Suifeng’s land reform might have implicated her.

Looking at the rice and corn fields under the moonlight, she shook her head and said loudly, "Our crops might have incited envy. Unseen opposition to the prince’s policy of land reclamation might exist, turning our village into a target. Everyone must be more vigilant."

"Agreed." Came a loud response.

In July, the rice plants in the fields had grown chest-high, signifying a promising harvest. The villagers expressed their resentment towards those who dared to meddle.

Despite the unrest in Shili Village, there were bigger stirrings in Feng City. The black-clad men changed their attire the following morning and hid outside the city. When they saw no movement, they entered the Drunken Moon Building at night.

In the furthest courtyard of the Drunken Moon Building, Zhang Da and other family heads were waiting.

"How could you fail?" Zhang Da, visibly upset, barked at the lead man.

"We are useless, my lords." A group kneeled on the ground.

"What exactly happened? We only asked you to destroy crops, not to kill people. You can’t even handle such a small task, what use are you?" Another man sitting beside Zhang Da asked angrily.

"Master Xia, we are not trying to avoid responsibility," a man on the ground explained in a difficult tone. "We didn’t expect Shili Village to be filled with martial arts experts. We were discovered as soon as we entered the village. It also seemed like martial monks from Ding’an Temple were there." The man was unsure about their identities as they had shaved heads but dressed like laymen.

"It’s absurd! How could the precious martial monks from Ding’an Temple act as Chu Suifeng’s private soldiers? And why would the monks risk sending them to patrol Shili Village? It’s nonsense!" The head of the Ji family didn’t believe it.

The few people sitting at the head of the table all nodded in agreement.

"My lords, we are also not certain, but apart from the patrol, there were many other skilled fighters in the village. Not to mention, their animals were incredibly fierce," the leader complained. "Several brothers were injured by these animals."

"This is even more ridiculous. Are you trying to make excuses for your failure?" The Ji family head angrily smashed his cup, its shards falling on the bowed people below. They didn’t dare to look up.

"You can’t even defeat a dog?" Zhang Da asked with a stern look.

"Those animals seem to have been trained, surprisingly they knew how to cooperate." The man on the ground didn’t dare to withhold anything.

However, his statement was too far-fetched for the ones in high seats who didn’t believe a single word.

With a "smack" sound, the door was kicked open.

"Who is it? Don’t you know that this courtyard is reserved by us?" The head of the Ji family was furious.

"Good to know it’s reserved. We don’t wish to disturb your gathering, but we’re here to look for assassins. I hope none of you will delay our prince’s official business." The door was kicked open, and the culprit stepped in

Recognizing the voice, Zhang Da and the others were taken aback, instantly rising to their feet. The kneeling people also stood up.

A group of soldiers in black armor appeared in the courtyard, brandishing their weapons. In the middle stood Chu Suifeng in black and Si Jinhan in white, flanked by three soldiers holding three massive dogs.

The dogs had chains around their necks, held by the soldiers. Seeing the people inside, the dogs went into a frenzy barking at them.

"So many people, it’s bustling. How interesting," Si Jinhan grinned while Chu Suifeng stood silently in the dark.

"Prince, we’re just gathering here, that’s not against the law, right?" Zhang Da felt apprehensive about Chu Suifeng and Si Jinhan’s presence, especially with the black-armored soldiers behind them, but he didn’t let it show on his face.

 

Chapter 375: Chapter 375: Transition from Old to New (1)_1

"Last night an assassin came to the Prince’s estate. Though the land’s inhabitants could not catch him in the act, the assassin was injured by a dog kept on the estate." Si Jinhan declared calmly.

Zhang Da and the others secretly cursed their luck. As soon as they heard the door noise, they should have let their servants leave. But the noise Si Jinhan had created was so brazen that they had momentarily neglected to be vigilant. Now, if the person is discovered on the scene, they will be caught red-handed.

"So, it seems the Prince and the third young master are here on official business. But everyone here is familiar, the assassin definitely wouldn’t be among us." The head of the Ji family lowered his stance as well.

"Yes, it’s just a small gathering of us, and the people here are servants from each of our residences."

"Right, there are no strangers here, the assassin certainly isn’t here."

...Everyone present echoed in agreement.

The assassins in the room subtly moved behind their masters, trying their best to play the role of a servant.

"No strangers, that’s good." Si Jinhan smiled brilliantly, sending a shiver down the spines of Zhang Da and the others as they detected the implications of his words.

"Release the dogs." Chu Suifeng coldly issued the order.

The three guards leading the military dogs immediately loosened the chains in their hands.

The now-free military dogs joyfully but warily pounced towards the people standing behind Zhang Da and the other family heads.

Those men who had previously been bitten by Gougou, reflexively extended their hands and used their inner strength to strike back at the dogs who rushed at them.

The several guards accompanying the dogs, being skilled in martial arts, would not allow anyone to hurt the dogs, and sprang up to intercept the men.

"How dare you," Zhang Da seeing trouble, quickly reprimanded his staff. After making sure his servant behind him remained still, he turned to Chu Suifeng with a forced smile, "Prince, it’s a misunderstanding. They were just startled by Gougou, they didn’t really intend to harm your dog."

"Arrest them." Chu Suifeng, true to his reputation as a war deity, had no desire to drag out this trial with Zhang Da and others, "Anyone resisting will be killed without mercy."

"Prince, what crime have we committed?" The head of the Xia family, keeping his calm, asked Chu Suifeng. His tone was ostensibly respectful, but carried a note of querying disdain.

"Still not giving up, huh?" Si Jinhan remarked indifferently, "Sir, let me show you some evidence."

Having said that, he seemed unconcerned but the man standing behind Zhang Da already had his top peeled off. Under the candlelight, the white bandages heavily wrapped around the man’s arm were suddenly exposed to everyone.

"I don’t have a penchant for undressing people. Since it’s done, stop hiding." Si Jinhan’s smile appeared somewhat eerie in the candlelight.

"Take the dogs and search every residence." Chu Suifeng ordered.

"Yes, Prince." The three guards promptly led the dogs out.

All the family heads present were shocked. It seemed the Prince was determined to eliminate everyone. They glanced at the black-armored soldiers in the courtyard, then thought about their own manpower. Secretly regretting, in order to do business, they had sent out important personnel to assassinate the Ma and Bai families. Was today the day their ship sank in the gutter?

Chu Suifeng unfeelingly took in the expressions on their faces. These people, who had their way in Feng City for so many years, has forgotten who the real master of Feng City was.

Si Jinhan looked down on these people even more. They were just wealthy families with a lot of silver, but what did these things count for in the face of weaponry and power? They were all fools. Hadn’t they noticed how firmly in control the Prince was of the military in these years?