Chapter 164: First Meeting with the Noble Family’s Heirs

Two hundred Gold Coins! It was burning hot in my hands!

Cheng Qian finally realized that when Mo Xiaobai initially suggested an eighty-twenty split, it was not just about giving him a little more.

Instead, Mo Xiaobai had painted a huge pie for him, and it was incredibly tempting.

After much thought, Cheng Qian finally spoke: “If I truly settle in another Prefecture City, can the Baron guarantee the supply of herbs?”

“Of course, no problem. Especially for some rare herbs, you can give me a list first. As long as they can be grown in the ground, I can meet all your demands.”

Since Mo Xiaobai dared to negotiate a deep cooperation with Fatty Cheng, he naturally had his own confidence. Currently, there were already many Medicine Fields in his Territory, totaling 35 units.

Once Daming Village was officially upgraded to a town, at least forty to fifty more Medicine Fields would be added. Supplying herbs to several Prefecture Cities would be no difficulty for him at all.

“Then it’s settled. I will start preparing right away when I return this time.” Fatty Cheng gritted his teeth several times before finally making the decision.

He needed money, but he needed fame even more across the Great Han.

“That’s the right attitude. With my Territory behind you, you must believe that no one can easily touch you.” Mo Xiaobai was very satisfied with Fatty’s final decision. If Cheng Qian did not have this confidence, it would have been a rather big trouble for Mo Xiaobai. At least, interfering in Great Han commerce would not be as smooth as it is now.

“My Lord, this speech should first solve our immediate trouble,” Fatty said with a bitter smile and a shake of his head. He already knew that Mo Xiaobai’s soldiers had imprisoned the sons of several Noble Families, otherwise he would not have been so nervous just now.

“Are you worried those Families will cause me trouble?”

Mo Xiaobai chuckled lightly and then spoke: “They have their Family power, and I am a Second-Class Baron as well. Neither side fears the other. However, I am very clear about the dirty conflicts between those Families, so you do not need to worry about that. Are you going back now, or shall you go with me to meet those Noble Family youths?”

“I have been away for a long time, so I should return to Juancheng as soon as possible. Therefore, after delivering these Gold Coins, I must bid farewell to the Baron.” Fatty did not answer directly, but his meaning was very clear.

The powerful gods can fight their battles; mortals like him would not get involved.

Mo Xiaobai waved goodbye to Fatty and then walked alone toward the Drill Ground.

Stepping into the main tent on the Drill Ground, Mo Xiaobai finally asked: “Jianli, are those noble youths still behaving well?”

Upon hearing this, He Chun replied: “Reporting to My Lord, at first, one or two of them were making noise. After I starved them for two meals, they became much more obedient.”

Great job!

Mo Xiaobai gave a mental thumbs-up to He Chun’s approach. These Noble Family youths, without a strong attitude, would truly do the thing of usurping the host.

“Bring them to me one by one. Bring whoever you want first.”

Gesturing for He Chun to fetch them, not long after, Mo Xiaobai saw a young man with his hands tied being dragged in.

“Untie him. This is not our way of treating guests in Daming Village.”

Hearing his My Lord’s words, He Chun untied the young man’s bonds. But as soon as the ropes were loose, the young man twisted his wrists and slapped He Chun across the face.

“What are you doing?” Facing the sudden slap, He Chun frowned and raised his hand to block it: “My Lord, this young man from the Wang Family is the most arrogant.”

“The Wang Clan?”

Mo Xiaobai touched his chin and then nodded: “A waste who was kicked out of Wang City still dares to fight in front of me? Does your Wang Family no longer have a noble title to lean on? It seems your only hope is the General of the Household Wang Hui stationed in the south. Unfortunately, you are not his son. Forget it. I am too lazy to deal with a declining branch family like yours. Take him down to write a letter for help. Let’s see if that dying wood, Wang Hun, will come to Daming Village to save you.”

Mo Xiaobai knew a little about many of the Great Han Dynasty’s NPC Family power bases.

Especially regarding the Prefecture City Noble Families, he was very clear about which ones would sink completely and which ones would make a strong comeback in the future. However, among those families with the potential for a strong comeback and a powerful opportunity to return from a Prefecture City to Wang City, the Wang Clan was not even in the list.

Since this guy wanted to show off in front of him, Mo Xiaobai had to let him see the power of a Player.

Don’t think that because you are an NPC, I will spoil you.

If you really anger this Lord Baron, I will just kill you to earn experience points.

When the Wang Family heir was dragged away by He Chun forcefully, the second Noble Family heir soon followed inside.

Not being bound meant this one should be relatively honest.

“Speak. Who are you?”

“The Cui Family, Cui Yi.”

The man from the Cui Family reported his name bluntly. After these days of “torture,” he knew that in this Territory, his Family identity could not cause anyone to fear him.

“Oh? The Jizhou Cui Family?” Mo Xiaobai raised his eyebrow and suddenly laughed.

“My Lord, what are you laughing at?”

“I am laughing at how incompetent your Cui Family is!”

“You!”

Cui Yi did not expect Mo Xiaobai to slap him in the face so directly. He was suddenly furious: “Although I showed a bit of disrespect to your Territory, you have imprisoned me for these days. Today, you so humiliate the Cui Family. You must give me an explanation for this!”

“An explanation? Is your Cui Family not ridiculous? Did you not do private salt trading with the Great Song? Did nothing happen recently?” Mo Xiaobai could not help but laugh out loud completely because, in Daming Village, there were exactly two big crates of Cui Family’s private salt.

Yes, those were the ones found in the Water Bandit stronghold.

“You… how could you know that?”

“I not only know, but I also saw it with my own eyes.”

“Impossible, that batch of salt has already…” Cui Yi was about to speak, but the next moment he suddenly stopped. He knew these things should not come out of his mouth.

Seeing Cui Yi looking at himself with a shocked expression, Mo Xiaobai shook his head: “It is truly a pity for your Cui Family. Your lake salt sells well, so why don’t you be more careful and watch out for families competing with you? Forget it. Since your Cui Family has been quite unlucky recently, I will not hold a grudge against your earlier clash with my Soldiers. Go write a letter to your family yourself and tell them to send someone to take you away.”

After Mo Xiaobai finished speaking, He Chun dragged the shocked Cui Yi out of the tent.

Then came the third one.

The Zhang Family, Zhang Yao.

He used almost the same excuse as Cui Yi. However, this time Mo Xiaobai swapped private salt for horses. Of course, Mo Xiaobai would not tell Zhang Yao that the warhorses his family’s merchant had obtained were all taken by him. He just wanted Zhang Yao to think carefully about which Family’s commercial power was the strongest among the nearby Prefecture Cities.

The answer was actually obvious. Just by looking at the gritted-teeth look on Zhang Yao’s face as he left, Mo Xiaobai knew his plan must have worked.

And Zhang Yao was just a chess piece he had slightly moved.

“Sigh. With the Marquis of Liuyang not appearing, the Zhang Family truly has no successors. No wonder they also came out of Wang City in shame.”

Just as Mo Xiaobai shook his head and sighed, the fourth “prisoner” was brought in.

A member of the Cai Family, Cai Heng.

Looking at Cai Heng standing calmly before him, Mo Xiaobai touched his chin, considering where to start his attack.

The Cai Family was different from the previous ones. Those families had various faults to some extent, but the Cai Family had few major problems. Throughout, they had established an Academy in Juancheng to teach a hundred or two hundred disciples. They never engaged in business or politics. They could be said to be a clear current among the Noble Families.

Facing this clear current, Mo Xiaobai thought for a long time before nodding: “If I must say there is one person among you who has no ill intentions toward my Territory, I feel it should be you.”