The young people on the wolf's back rolled around in a ball, laughing and joking.

Because they knew they were not Western barbarian bandits, but soldiers of the Great Zhou.

No bloodshed, no killing, how wonderful!

Xiao Youran jumped directly from Xiaobai's back into Wen Yuanbai's arms, "Senior brother, senior brother, you're back!"

Wen Yuanbai's anxious heart finally calmed down, and he gently patted her back, "Yes, your senior brother is back. Are you all alright?"

"Yes, great! They've all been scared away by my pets!"

The five hundred Great Zhou soldiers behind Nan Zhuo remained silent: ...

You call these ferocious tigers and wolves pets?

Didn't you see all this mangled flesh and blood on the ground?

Xiao Youran hugged her senior brother with even greater joy.

When she left Wufeng County, her senior brother was still in a wheelchair.

Now, he walks just like any other person.

On a whim, she jumped to the ground and kicked him.

The boy sidestepped, lightly landed behind her with a tap of his toes, and then walked steadily around her for a few more steps.

Xiao Youran had a bright smile on her face, and turned around to bury her face in his arms again, "Senior brother! You're all better! You're really all better!"

Wen Yuanbai patted the back of the little girl in his arms and said softly, "Yes, Senior Brother is all better now."

"Yes, yes, I'm going to write a letter to my two masters!"

Wen Yuanbai had no time for reminiscing, "Where did those Western barbarian bandits go?"

Xiao You Ran pointed into the distance and said, "San Yang Mountain."

Wen Yuanbai said gently, "You rest here. Your senior brother will come to pick you up later."

"Okay!" Xiao Youran nodded vigorously.

The next day, Wen Yuanbai returned to the place as expected. At this time, Madam Yun was preparing to return to Wufeng County with her family. After making some more preparations, she set off for the capital city.

Xiao Youran was very happy to see him and told him her plans.

Wen Yuanbai happened to be returning to Wufeng County as well, so the two groups of people merged and returned to Wufeng County together.

On the way, Wen Yuanbai recounted what happened last night. He led five hundred soldiers and the five hundred soldiers stationed in Sanyang Village to attack from both inside and outside, and captured Hamuyi alive.

As a result, the number of prisoners on Sanyang Mountain increased by seven hundred.

Xiao Youran said with a grin, "Oh dear, if you ask me, keeping so many prisoners locked up on Sanyang Mountain is just a waste of food. We might as well let the soldiers of Da Zhou drive them to mine!"

Wen Yuanbai's eyes lit up. "What a great idea! Sanyang Mountain is a coal mine!"

But... there was a shortage of food... He was stumped again.

After returning to Wufeng County, the group chatted and laughed and then went their separate ways. Madam Yun took her family back to the Yun residence to settle down, while Wen Yuanbai went to the county government office to find Magistrate Cao.

When Magistrate Cao saw Wen Yuanbai, he was overjoyed, as if he had seen a savior. He knelt down before Wen Yuanbai with a thud, "Your Highness! You've finally returned! Wufeng County is finally saved!"

Wen Yuanbai rubbed his tired brow. "I sent troops back to suppress the bandits a few days ago. Haven't we already secured Wufeng County?"

Magistrate Cao cried, “Wufeng County is not threatened by the Western barbarian bandits, but the entire county is already starving! We were already short of food due to natural disasters, and with this commotion, even if all the merchants hand over their grain, it will only be enough to sustain us for one bowl of thin porridge a day so we don’t starve. You asked me for supplies for the five hundred soldiers you sent back last time, but where would I get them? Even if I had money, I couldn’t buy any grain! You can ask the young magistrate if you don’t believe me!”

Wen Yuanbai raised his eyes, "Have you revealed my identity?"

Magistrate Cao shook his head, "Your Highness, I dared not reveal your identity at all. The young princess came to Wufeng County more than ten days ago, saying she was going to Sanyang Village to find the family of the former Marquis of Yun. I could not stop her, so I had to send people to protect her secretly. Fortunately, they were resourceful and hid on Sanyang Mountain without being discovered by the bandits. Later, they used a pack of wolves to trap the Western barbarian bandits in a cave. The five hundred soldiers you sent earlier captured the bandits, which allowed the people of Yunjia Village to come down the mountain."

But... what he didn't dare say was that there were also more than a thousand Western barbarian prisoners, which meant more than a thousand mouths to feed!

He can't care about that now; many have probably already starved to death. The Great Zhou soldiers have no food to eat, let alone the Western barbarian prisoners.

Wen Yuanbai pinched the bridge of his nose. "I already know about this matter. Now there are more than seven hundred more Western barbarian prisoners, and they are still being held on Sanyang Mountain."

They're both short of food!

Magistrate Cao cried again, "Your Highness, the thousand soldiers left behind in the county have been starving for more than ten days... They are crying for food. My memorial has already been submitted to the capital, but I don't know when the court will be able to distribute military rations and relief grain?"

Wen Yuanbai frowned. "I'm afraid I can't help with this matter either."

He came all the way from Qingshan City, and he was always short of food!

Magistrate Cao glanced at his face and hesitated before saying, "A couple of days ago, I saw Lady Zhou, the wife of the former Marquis of Yun, come to buy grain, though she returned empty-handed. But I believe they must... have a way."

He had heard that even though the hundreds of people from Yunjia Village were trapped on Sanyang Mountain, they never lacked food or water.

The two soldiers he secretly sent to protect him mingled with the villagers, eating heartily. When they returned to the yamen after completing their mission yesterday, they were found to have gained weight!

The other officers and soldiers were so jealous that they wished they could have their own flesh instead of theirs.

He knew that the five-year-old county princess must have a way!

Wen Yuanbai understood the meaning behind his words, "If Magistrate Cao has anything to say, just say it."

Magistrate Cao said, "I have heard that the instant noodle workshop in Yunjia Village will soon be sending rice and flour ingredients. I would like to ask the young magistrate to... first provide a batch of rice and flour ingredients to solve the food problem for the soldiers stationed in Wufeng County? For more than ten days, I and the more than a thousand soldiers stationed in the city have been barely surviving on just a mouthful of porridge each day..."

As for the soldiers and prisoners on Sanyang Mountain, now that His Highness the Crown Prince has returned, what business is it of a mere county magistrate like me?

Wen Yuanbai remained silent for a moment, then said, "I will go and discuss this with my junior sister."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Magistrate Cao bowed deeply to him.

...

Yunfu, Wufeng County.

With the help of Madam Zhou and Madam Li, Old Madam Yun stepped down from the carriage, crossed the somewhat dilapidated threshold, and sighed upon seeing the devastated Yun residence.

Su and Yu led a group of children behind, each going their own way to gather up the broken things.

Finally, Old Feng, along with Granny Li, Granny Wang, and Granny Zhao, unloaded the things from the car.

In Yunjia Village, many villagers still had potatoes hidden in their cellars. When they saw that Tian Kuang's group was about to leave, they brought them some food so that they wouldn't go hungry on the road.

Zhou didn't stand on ceremony. They couldn't buy grain in Wufeng County, and it would probably be difficult to buy grain on their way back to Beijing, so they had to prepare some food.

So I brought them along, along with quite a few prey.