Unlimited estates for rural beauty-Chapter 703 Grand Finale (7)

"General Fan Ji’ao’s kindness will not be forgotten by this subordinate; I swear to be loyal unto death to the General and to Luo County," he said, deeply kowtowing again.

Xu Sanlang smiled and added, "And to be loyal to Xueyan Country."

Fan Ji’ao snapped back to his senses and hastily appended his statement, then, following the General’s instruction, he stood up.

"Alright, you may go back for now. Once I have things settled here, I’ll send someone for you within a month at most. Just wait patiently," he said.

"Yes, General."

Xu Sanlang waved his hand, signaling him to leave, so he could discuss with his strategists the disposition of over ten thousand men.

Fan Ji’ao hesitated, thinking of those pitiful people, then stepped forward and cupped his fists, "General, I have a report to make!"

Xu Sanlang put down the pen in his hand and looked at him with puzzlement, "Speak."

"The soldiers who originally belonged to Wa Keluo have surrendered and wish to follow me in service to General Xu. I am uncertain whether to retain these soldiers or not," he said, his voice trailing off towards the end, while he glanced up at General Xu intermittently.

Xu Sanlang pondered for a moment before ultimately deciding to leave the matter to Fan Ji’ao to handle.

In the Imperial Palace of Luo Kingdom, Lou Qianyu still resided, although the place was not as populated as before, it had become significantly quieter.

In the study, Lou Qianyu was reading the memorial submitted by Xu Sanlang. It was about matters concerning Fan Ji’ao, and his being taken into Xu’s command, with rows of praise and commendation for Fan Ji’ao between the lines. She couldn’t help but smile; this stubborn old man was actually full of praise for a tribal chieftain, which showed that the man must possess some extraordinary qualities. With the pen in her hand, she swiftly wrote the characters for "approved" on the document, then sent it back sealed as it was.

On the twenty-third day of the first month, Shi Kedan and Anuli, as if having coordinated with each other, appeared in Fan Ji’ao’s tent at the same time, anxiously waiting for him. Neither could have predicted that Fan Ji’ao would pull such a move on Wa Keluo.

"Hahaha, what brings both of you to visit my humble abode today?" Fan Ji’ao was all smiles, showing no sign of his sleepless state from the night before.

Shi Kedan and Anuli greeted him with a smile and bowed fists, "Congratulations Chief Fan, oh, no, I should say Deputy General now, for winning General Xu’s favor and being taken under his wing. It is indeed a cause for celebration."

Fan Ji’ao was embarrassed but smiled anyway and gestured for them to sit down before replying, "Hehe, it’s General Xu’s favor indeed."

Anuli and Shi Kedan exchanged glances, seeing in each other’s eyes the same desire to serve under General Xu. Anuli brazenly said to Fan Ji’ao, "Deputy General Fan, do you think you could introduce us? Our tribe is also willing to surrender and submit to Xueyan Country."

"Right, right, our tribe is willing to submit as well; we just haven’t had the right opportunity. Deputy General Fan, what do you think...?" Shi Kedan hurriedly followed suit, fearing to be left behind.

Fan Ji’ao frowned and thought it over. With only their two tribes left on the grasslands and seeing their apparent desire to submit, which was not a spur-of-the-moment decision but rather a well-considered one; otherwise, they would not have reacted so strongly when he had intended to attack Luo County before.

Shi Kedan and Anuli watched him, their hands sweating with nervous anticipation.

"I can help you."

The two virtually wanted to embrace him at hearing this heavenly sound but were stopped in their tracks by his next words.

"But if you have any ulterior motives, not only will General Xu not let you off, but neither will I. Do you both understand?" Seeing their excitement, he thought it best to lay out the hard truth up front to avoid offending the General.