Chapter 417

Time returned to Tian Miaowen's boudoir before Ye Xiaotian set off with his troops. Ye Xiaotian embraced Tian Miaowen's delicate, smooth body. The two of them had just made love, so their breathing was still rather unsteady. Ye Xiaotian said, "Are you confident you can control the old lands of Sinan?"

Tian Miaowen said, "You have orders from the imperial court. During this war, you can control the population, taxes, labor, rations, and livestock. I am a descendant of the Tian Clan. In the past, the Tian Clan treated the people well. After the Tian Clan was forced to live in Guiyang, there has never been peace and harmony here, so there are even more people who miss their old masters. Also, I've told you before that there are quite a few local officials who still maintain close ties with my Tian family, so there won't be any problems! However … "

Tian Miaowen furrowed her brows slightly. "These places can't be seized through force. It's exactly because of this that there will be a lot of trouble in terms of manpower. If we want to manage it smoothly, we'll need a lot of manpower. The talents that our Crouching Bull Ridge has recruited to manage these places are probably far from enough."

Ye Xiaotian said, "That's why I only want you to control the four manors of Sinan! These four manors must only use people from our family! "

Ye Xiaotian turned around slightly and caressed her smooth, silky skin. His palm pressed against her beautiful, undulating curves, like a small boat on the waves. "As for Sinan, I plan to have your elder brother go there. He doesn't have anyone, but the Tian family does! The Tian family has endured hardship for so many years. They must have no lack of talents, enough to help him control Sinan! "

Tian Miaowen suddenly sat up, and her breasts bounced. Forgetting herself in shock, Tian Miaowen cried out again. She covered the mat and lay down, turning her body sideways. Her large, limpid eyes were hidden by her messy hair. She was extremely beautiful.

"You … you want to give Sinan to my elder brother to control?"

Ye Xiaotian said, "This is a promise I made to your elder brother! The four manors of Sinan originally belonged to the Tian Clan. Now that they've returned to their old masters, it's better than being a pile of loose sand. However … in name, the four manors of Sinan are still under the control of Crouching Bull Ridge! "

Tian Miaowen's eyes flickered with tears of excitement. She had already regarded herself as a member of the Ye family, but she still had deep feelings for her family. Now that Ye Xiaotian was willing to do this, she would be able to answer to her maiden family. How could she not be grateful?

That wasn't a small plot of land. It was such a big piece of land, yet he gave it away just like that. Her husband valued her so much! If at this moment her body was not weak and weak, Miss Miao Wen would have puffed up her cheeks and licked her lips, playing the flute and singing to repay her husband's kindness.

In fact, Ye Xiaotian used the Great Myriad Mountain as the boundary and threw out the four prefectures of the Si Province. Apart from his promise, there were also very practical considerations. Si Prefecture, Si South, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture, Si Prefecture.

There were historical reasons for this, but there were also objective factors that contributed to it. Si Zhou and Si Nan were separated by the Great Wan Mountain, which was the most difficult obstacle to overcome. If they were governed by a single ruler, given the communication conditions of this era, many things would be difficult to deal with in a timely manner.

Under such circumstances, it was necessary to delegate power and give the people in charge of the affairs on the other side of the mountain many convenient rights. Over time, it would still be equivalent to autonomy. Rather than that, it would be better to be generous and leave the Sizhou side to Tian Binfei to handle. He would not have to spend too much effort on that piece of land that was already difficult to control.

What Ye Xiaotian wanted was to fully control Sinan, which also included four prefectures, of which Sinan and Shiqian were adjacent to the west. To the east of Shiqian was Tongren. Ye Xiaotian was overseeing Tongren. His hand stretched to the west. Through Sinan, he could establish contact with Sichuan. Through Shiqian, he could explore Bozhou.

While Yang Yinglong was coveting the entire world, others were also coveting his territory. The three divisions of Baini, Caotang, and Huangping were Ye Xiaotian's goals …

These three divisions were adjacent to Shiqian, which was the most convenient to control. Once they had their land, there was the natural barrier of Wu River to the north, which made it easier to negotiate with the imperial court. As for the Song family of Shuixi and Shuidong, they were far away from Shuixi, and there was also Shuixi in between, so the An family would not have any ideas on him.

Ye Xiaotian did not want to make friends from afar and attack from near, but he could make friends from afar to deter near. He kept in close contact with the An family. If the Song family of Shuidong wanted to take action against him, they must consider the An family's attitude. Moreover, these three places were only the eastern neighbors of the Song family of Shuidong, not the land that the Song family was determined to get.

Why had the Song family of Shuidong and the Yang family of Bozhou been in discord for so many years? It was because the Song family of Shuidong did not want to be locked by the Great River. The Song family worked hard to establish a foothold on the north bank of Wu River. Even if it was only a piece of land, the natural moat of Wu River would no longer be a chain used to lock the Song family in Bozhou, and the Song family could open a trade channel of their own.

Ye Xiaotian had fully considered the interests of the An family and the Song family, knowing that they would not create obstacles for him. But before he fought with the stingy Emperor Wanli, he still had two things to consider. One was whether Yang Yinglong would lose, and the other was that even if Yang Yinglong lost, he still had to control Baini, Huangping, and Caotang, and there was still the Tong family of Shi Qian in the middle.

The Tong family of Shi Qian had always been in a dilemma. As a force that was neither big nor small, and was next to a strong master like Yang Yinglong of Bozhou, it was not a good feeling to seek survival in the cracks.

Therefore, the Tong family had always accepted the secret funding and help of the Tian Clan to resist the annexation of the Yang family of Bozhou. When Ye Xiaotian rose up, the Tong family rapidly became close to Ye Xiaotian, working together to deal with the Zhan family and Cao family of Shi Qian. When the Cao family was destroyed and the Zhan family became a vassal of Ye Xiaotian, the Tong family rapidly took over the territory of the Cao family, confronting Ye Xiaotian.

When Yang Yinglong's plan to directly take over the Crouching Bull Ridge and then head east to take over the Shiqian and Tongren prefectures failed, he made up his mind to head north through Sichuan and open up his first path to conquering the world. As a result, he relaxed his pressure on the Tong family, and the Tong family began to collude with the Yang family again.

Ye Xiaotian dared not trust such a capricious organisation. If he did not completely control the Tong family's territory, Huangping, Caotang, and Baini districts would just be an enclave. Even if he took over them, he would not be able to rule over them. As a result, the Tong family became a problem that he had to deal with.

As Ye Xiaotian stopped in front of Loushan pass and played ambush with Liu Dadao, Tongren did not idle around either. The matriarch, Tian Miaowen, visited the four prefectures of Sinan with her identity as the first young miss of the Tian family and the Palm Seal Madam of the Crouching Bull Ridge. She met with local officials and calmed the hearts of the people.

Li Dazhuang tailed behind her, using everything he had to restrict the four prefectures in terms of finances, resources, and manpower, strengthening his control over them.

Meanwhile, the female chieftain of the Yu family of Tongren, the first young miss of the fourth rank general, Yu Junting, had also donned her helmet and armour at this moment. She led an army of three thousand, charging towards the Wu river. She said she wanted to assist the imperial court and suppress the rebels. The place she had to pass through was the Tong family of Ge Zhang and Ge Shangsi. Further away was Tian Xiufeng's headquarters, the Tian family of Baini.