Chapter 243 Blood Oath
Chapter 243 Blood Oath
In the afternoon, Xiao Xia came to the princess's mansion and Yang Lihua asked him to sit down.
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "Aunt is so polite, I'm a little uncomfortable with it!"
Yang Lihua smiled slightly and said, "You are already a prince, so I have to show you some respect."
"What treatment will there be after being promoted to a prince?" Xiao Xia asked with a smile.
Yang Lihua smiled and said, "There will definitely be some benefits, but they won't be much. You can ask my brother for details. Xiaopang is very concerned about the treatment of the prince."
The maid came in and served tea. After she left, Yang Lihua continued, "I have more than a hundred warriors who have been with me for many years and are loyal to me. Although I have provided them with food and clothing, I cannot give them a better future. Seeing your royal grandfather getting older, I estimate that he will not have many years left. I am now tired of politics and plan to retire peacefully. So I have to arrange for these warriors. I gave my father a batch of warriors before, about fifty people, and now I plan to give you the second batch of elite warriors, about thirty people."
Xiao Xia secretly felt lucky. As he was short of manpower, he planned to call back Xu Min and others. He had already written the letter, but had not had time to send it out. Fortunately, he did not send it out, otherwise he would have regretted it and lost the power he had built up in Hexi.
"Thank you, aunt. I really need help. If I had someone under my command, I wouldn't have done it myself that day."
Yang Lihua nodded, "In fact, I have also thought about it for a long time. I mainly considered whether to hand it all over to your father, but from the current situation, you and your father are two independent forces. Your father's Jinwang Mansion has almost nothing to do with you, and the results of your hard work have almost nothing to do with your father.
Later, I asked your father and understood his idea. He was worried that no one would survive if the nest was overturned. Only by placing you somewhere else could you grow into an independent towering tree instead of a strong branch on the Jin Palace. I agree with your father's thinking, so I finally decided to give you thirty high-level warriors. "
Yang Lihua pushed a box to Xiao Xia, "This is the Golden Unicorn, which is equivalent to a token for mobilizing warriors. You can set up a few martial arts schools and place warriors in them as a cover. On the one hand, they can protect the business, and on the other hand, they can also teach their own apprentices."
Xiao Xia pondered for a moment and asked, "Excuse me, aunt, does the royal grandfather really want to depose the crown prince?"
Yang Lihua shook her head. "I don't know either. Your grandfather is getting more and more stubborn. He won't listen to other people's opinions. You can say he is stubborn! But he changes his mind every day, which makes people feel at a loss. He is also a bit moody and gets angry easily. So I feel very tired and don't want to be involved in government affairs anymore."
At this time, Sun Lei and Li Luming walked in and said, "Meet the princess!"
Yang Lihua pointed at Xiao Xia and said, "From today on, you will pledge allegiance to my nephew. He is your new master!"
The two of them knelt on one knee and clasped their fists towards Xiao Xia, saying, "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Prince!"
Xiao Xia smiled and said, "We are old partners. Believe me, Xiao Xia will never treat you unfairly!"
The two men clasped their fists and said, "We are willing to sacrifice our lives to serve Your Highness!"
Yang Lihua asked again: "Are they all here?"
“They’re all outside!”
Yang Lihua nodded, "Xia'er, let's go!"
Xiao Xia followed Yang Lihua to the outer courtyard, where 28 warriors had gathered, all around 30 years old, including eight female warriors, who were originally elite warriors left by Yang Lihua, and now she was ready to hand them over to Xiao Xia. This was actually Yang Lihua's attitude, she began to fully support her second brother Yang Guang, and to create another powerful backup for him. Even if his second brother failed, Xiao Xia could keep their family safe.
Of course, Yang Lihua did not give all the resources to Xiao Xia. She gave three of her five large manors directly to her brother Yang Guang, and also gave Yang Guang hundreds of thousands of stones of stored grain and fifty warriors.
Yang Lihua doesn't like Yang Ling. She likes her fat nephew Yang Zhao, but Yang Zhao is too generous and kind, and a little lacks courage. He can assist his father, but if he is asked to do big things independently, he is far inferior to Xiao Xia.
Yang Lihua admired Xiao Xia's tenacity and independence even more. Princess Xiao disliked him and wouldn't let him in, but he went to study on his own, bought a house, and even became a warrior in the Lingyan Pavilion. This is something that not everyone can do.
Yang Lihua firmly believed that Xiao Xia would become a pillar of the Sui Dynasty. This was not only an aunt's expectation for her nephew, but also a mother's arrangement for her child's future.
Yang Lihua pointed at Xiao Xia and said to everyone, "This is my nephew, Xihai County Prince Xiao Xia, who can also be said to be my son. He was ranked first in the Great Sui Military Examination and the second most meritorious official in the Great Sui Western Expedition to Tuyuhun. Now he is the General of the Right Wuhou Guard. He was able to fight Shi Wansui for twenty rounds without a clear winner. Even my father, the Emperor of the Great Sui, praised him and said that he would definitely become the pillar of the Great Sui. From now on, he is your new lord. You must be loyal to him as you are to me. The future of each of you depends on him. Follow him and you will not be disappointed!"
They all knelt on one knee and clasped their fists, saying, "We are willing to die for the young master!"
Xiao Xia nodded and said, "I will establish Xihai Tower, and everyone will become a warrior of Xihai Tower. At the same time, I will also create several martial arts schools to conceal everyone's identities. I don't have any extra words. I just want to tell everyone that I, Xiao Xia, embrace the light and will never leave darkness to you!"
This sentence was very well said, and Yang Lihua nodded secretly. This is what a king should say.
She waved her hand, and the housekeeper and several servants brought a table and placed thirty-one large bowls on it, all filled with wine. She said to Xiao Xia, "The blood oath ceremony cannot be abolished. You drip a drop of blood into each bowl and swear an oath with blood. If they betray their loyalty, they will pay with their lives."
Xiao Xia had already tried this kind of loyalty ceremony of the Sui Dynasty in Lingyan Pavilion.
Xiao Xia pulled out a dagger, cut his palm, and dripped a drop of blood into each wine bowl. Everyone lined up and did the same to Xiao Xia, cutting their palms and dripping blood. Finally, everyone raised their bowls. Xiao Xia raised his bowl and said loudly: "Everyone is loyal to me. I, Xiao Xia, will never let you down. If I succeed, you and your descendants will all enjoy wealth and glory for generations. If you die for me, your parents will be my parents, and I will take care of your wives and children."
After saying that, Xiao Xia drank the blood wine in one gulp, and everyone shouted, "We will serve His Highness until our death!"
Everyone drank the wine in one gulp. Sun Lei and Li Luming led everyone to bow to Xiao Xia and leave.
Xiao Xia sighed and said to Yang Lihua: "Thank you again, aunt, for everything you have done for me!"
Yang Lihua smiled and said, "They are not shops or wealth, they are people, people with flesh and blood. To gain their loyalty, first of all, the ceremony cannot be abolished. The ceremony is the system. Then it is kindness. Treat them well instead of being ungrateful. Don't be like Chen Shubao who treated his subordinates as grass and was finally betrayed by the warriors who followed him for twenty years. The system plus kindness can win their long-term loyalty. This is my aunt's lifelong experience."
Xiao Xia bowed again, "Thank you for your teachings, mother!"
Yang Lihua's eyes turned red, and she touched Xiao Xia's head and said, "When aunt is gone in the future, you have to take good care of Sister Eying and Jingxun for me. They are also your relatives."
Xiao Xia nodded, "I will take good care of all my relatives. This is my unshirkable responsibility."
(End of this chapter)