TGDS Chapter 86.1

The Good Dad System (Arc 12) Chapter 86.1: (Ancient Times) The People Around My Daughter Have All Been Reborn (7)

The borders of the Great Xia Dynasty were always under high alert. The garrison troops stationed there never dared to relax their vigilance, rotating shifts constantly. Even the soldiers on the watchtowers bore heavy responsibilities; if they were caught dozing off or daydreaming, they would be severely punished.

Especially in the Western City, this small border town belonging to the Great Xia Dynasty, the city walls were always scarred, showing signs of multiple repairs. Different colored bricks were piled together, and if you got close, you could see that some bricks had lost their outer layer, bearing scratches from who-knows-where, and some dark red marks—a chilling sight.

The reason for this situation is simple. Xicheng is the first city located at the border between the Great Xia Dynasty and the Ning Dynasty. Whenever the border is invaded, they are always the first to be hit. However, due to the household registration system, unless there is a war, it is difficult for them to settle in other border cities. Therefore, they have no choice but to stay and “live and die” with Xicheng. In almost every war, the people have to serve as support. Over time, they have become fierce and tough.

But recently, the area outside Xicheng has changed drastically.

The land that was once barren, full of yellow earth and weeds, is now covered with tents stretching endlessly. The tents are covered with thick cloth and fur, and the tents are lined with blankets. The front half is for goods, and the back half is probably for housing, but it is not clear. The original watchtower has been extended for more than ten miles. The original encirclement-like military camp has now spread out in a ring. Further ahead, there are all kinds of ditches and thorns, leaving only a small path.

“Soldier, we’re from the Gelangla tribe, may we go in?” A woman with a strange accent arrived with her husband and children, carrying large and small bags. They had dark, yellowish skin, wore clothes made of fur and coarse cloth, and each carried a large, bulging bag on their backs.

They were standing on a massive ditch near the military camp. The ditch was secured by a large, pieced-together stone plank, with sharp rocks below. It was very deep; falling in would likely be fatal. Two catapults were positioned nearby, ready to fire at any invading enemy, cutting the plank and making further progress difficult.

“Hmm, any news from the Gelangla tribe?” In the military camp, there weren’t many literate people. This was a literate tutor specially recruited from the western city. He held a notebook and was making records, “Name, place of origin, gender, what they are carrying…” The notebook in his hand was specially made by General Pei, using a table format for registration. It was printed with crude ink, and he would return home with his hands stained black almost every day. After finishing recording, they would proceed to the next checkpoint, where there were portrait painters.

The woman was timid and nervous, honestly confessing along with her husband and children, almost revealing everything, including what they had eaten the previous night.

Nearby, there were many other passersby like her, all with the same goal—they wanted to stay outside the western city, pass the examination, and become residents of the western city.

Beyond the borders lie numerous tribes, large and small. Although the Ning Dynasty also calls itself Great Ning, it is essentially a loose alliance, uniting several large tribes on the frontier. As for the smaller ones, it has no time to manage them. Beyond the borders lies a vast and desolate landscape, and the tribes are not accustomed to living in close quarters. Recently, the Great Ning Dynasty has suffered repeated defeats and has retreated to the depths of the border to recuperate. Along their journey, they have plundered many smaller tribes to replenish their forces, leaving behind only chaos and a large number of displaced people.

Pei Naochun, having read many related books and stories in his later life, understood that while it was a fictional world, it was based on real historical context. The reason for the frequent conflicts between the Ning Dynasty and the Great Xia Dynasty was simple: ultimately, it was a conflict between nomadic and agricultural peoples. In fact, even among these frontier peoples, many naturally disliked plundering and harming others, and were merely going through the motions of their lives.

Therefore, the first step to completely curb war was assimilation.

Upon learning of the actions taken by the Ning Dynasty troops during their retreat, he immediately made a decisive move. He found several women from the city who had married into the tribes and ordered a small squad of soldiers to accompany them on a journey to the border. They went to a small, fragmented tribe and persuaded them to join the Western City.

This was essentially a win-win situation: firstly, it reduced the number of “mobile supply depots” for the Ning Dynasty troops; secondly, years of warfare had drastically reduced the population of the Western City, leading to a labor shortage; and thirdly, the other side also provided valuable intelligence.

Of course, screening and registration became extremely important. Pei Naochun devised a comprehensive system of screening and questioning records. Applicants were registered separately, and details were exchanged between tribes. Even those who passed the screening could not enter the city; they had to stay outside for six months before being eligible for a lottery to enter. Even those selected had to provide corresponding financial guarantees.

There is a detailed set of rules that will be read aloud every other day by the personnel in charge of management outside the city. One of the bonus points is for reporting others – of course, this doesn’t include malicious reports, but anyone with relatives or friends living in Ningchao or having connections with Ningchao is strictly prohibited from entering the city. Upon being reported, they will be immediately expelled; nothing else will be done. Furthermore, anyone who has committed serious crimes such as murder, arson, rape, or murder in the border regions will also be treated the same and expelled.

Meanwhile, the personnel responsible for screening, aside from clerical staff, are mostly veterans who have returned from the battlefield. They are generally very sensitive to people who have seen blood, and they can usually identify most of the suspects at their first screening.

Even so, Pei Naochun didn’t completely let his guard down. He divided his troops into several groups, and the outer city was patrolled hundreds of times a day to ensure absolute security. In fact, some of his advisors were quite skeptical of what he was doing, feeling that he was taking too much of a risk. But Pei Naochun knew perfectly well that he was just doing what needed to be done. Otherwise, the Pei family wasn’t like leeks, which would grow back after being harvested; generation after generation would have to die to defend the border.

Families that had been investigated and registered had already gone in, and others followed closely behind, heading towards the place of their hopes, one after another. In a while, winter would arrive, and the winter on the border was very cold. With the remaining supplies they had just received from being plundered by the Ning Dynasty troops, they wouldn’t survive the winter. They had no real entanglement with the Ning Dynasty people; they were just like all ordinary people, sharing the same wish: to live.

In war, these unarmed commoners lived like pigs and dogs, driven around at will, their lives and deaths left to fate and man, not their own.

“General Pei, twenty households have been registered and approved to enter the outer city today…” Pei Naochun’s personal guard, who was literate and had long been assigned to do the statistics work, carefully reported while flipping through the register, “The protective moat has been expanded another lap, and it should be completed before winter.”

Most of these frontier people recruited to the outer city were quite strong. After arriving here with their last remaining possessions, they hadn’t yet found a way to make a living, so they worked for money, responsible for building defensive facilities outside the barracks. To counter the Ning Dynasty’s iron-blooded cavalry, Pei Naochun racked his brains, and he and several craftsmen prepared everything he had ever heard of before, such as tripwires. These defensive fortifications alone outside the city would be enough to give the Ning Dynasty’s cavalry a headache for days.

“Very good. Are the food supplies in the inner city sufficient?” Pei Naochun asked casually.

“Sufficient.” The magistrate here was practically a member of the Pei family; after all, being an official in the western city wasn’t an easy job, and the Ministry of Personnel would kill anyone who did. “As you said, General, we bought furs from the outer city and exchanged them for a lot of durable grain. The warehouses are full now.”

“How’s the training going?” Pei Naochun took a sip of water and asked again.

The adjutant in charge of training immediately reported, “These new recruits are performing very well, but they haven’t been on the battlefield before, so they lack a bit of toughness!” Under Pei Naochun’s organization, two more rounds of recruits were conscripted. Logically, this should have been reported to higher authorities, but the army had suffered many casualties in recent years, and some hadn’t even been reported, so they simply recruited on their own, and quite a few had been recruited.

After two more rounds of discussion, everything that needed to be discussed over the past few days was covered. Once everyone in the room had dispersed, the weary-looking guard slipped inside unnoticed, put his luggage behind him, and began to report on other matters Pei Naochun had specifically assigned him: “General, the capital is indeed turbulent right now. Just as you predicted, there are secret guards patrolling outside the General’s residence. I had my men follow them, and we discovered that those guards belong to…” The guard’s voice was hoarse, and he subconsciously lowered his voice, “…the Crown Prince.”

He couldn’t imagine the uproar that followed when he learned of this matter. Why was the Crown Prince inexplicably monitoring the General’s residence? Could it be that the General’s achievements on the frontier had become too great, arousing the Emperor’s suspicion? But if it was because of this, it should be someone from the Emperor’s palace, not the Crown Prince.

“Yes, I understand.” Pei Naochun remained calm. Ever since his daughter confided in him about what had happened around her, and he had others observe carefully, he had pieced together the whole picture of his past life. He was almost certain that the people who appeared around his daughter, who were different from before, were not time travelers, but reincarnated. Some of these people wanted to curry favor, while others hadn’t yet decided how to deal with his daughter.

However, no one paid attention to him. After all, in the novel’s plot, he, as the father, was just a minor character, summoned by his daughter and following her all the way back to the capital, which gave him quite a few opportunities.

“And…” the guard stammered, unsure if he had overstepped his bounds, “When we were tracking those secret guards, we discovered there were several groups, each monitoring the Second Prince, the Third Prince, and the Prime Minister Gu’s residence.” They were supposed to be dutiful, only concerned with the safety of General Pei’s family. Paying more attention to royal affairs was an overstepping of their bounds, but after discovering that the Crown Prince seemed to be planning to take action against the Pei family, they became indignant on behalf of their general, and even acted rashly, counter-tracking him.

He immediately knelt down: “We have overstepped our bounds, please punish us, General.” Most of these guards had been raised by the Pei family since childhood, and were mostly war orphans. Although they were citizens of the Great Xia Dynasty, they relied on and trusted the Pei family more. They knew General Pei was loyal and had no ulterior motives. If the Emperor had planted spies around General Pei, they might have tolerated it, but to have them eyeing General Pei’s family was simply intolerable.

In fact, this was also a prejudice held by the personal guards. Throughout history, there have been countless instances of merit overshadowing the emperor. Even if Emperor Xia Ren suspected the Pei family, it wouldn’t be surprising. The reason Emperor Xia Ren had always trusted the Pei family was ultimately because the Pei family had never been a large family, and because they had been stationed on the frontier for many years. Furthermore, Emperor Xia Ren was a straightforward person, trusting those he believed and not employing those he doubted, and he was also content with enjoying life.

This was why, even though his sons had caused trouble right under his nose in both lifetimes, he hadn’t noticed. “It’s alright, you’re just worried about me.” Pei Naochun raised his hand, signaling them to rise. He was waiting for a point in time in the original owner’s memories. “Follow my instructions and deliver a gift to His Highness the Crown Prince.” He beckoned the personal guards closer and began to instruct them carefully, “First, do as I say, and then… and then…”

“Yes!” The personal guards never expected that their general would actually be willing to fight back. They knew that their General Pei was always loyal to the emperor; for him to do this was already more than enough!

“Go,” Pei Naochun commanded, watching the personal guard walk further and further away. He was deep in thought, currently juggling two tasks, each requiring strength. He had prepared two strategies; now, it was up to his daughter to decide.

But there was no rush; everything was ready, only the final push was needed.

…

Every year around the Spring Festival, the capital was exceptionally lively. The predominantly wooden city was adorned with lanterns and decorations, bathed in a beautiful red glow. Of course, this was also the time of highest alert throughout the city. If one household was careless and a fire broke out, it could spread to many other areas, turning a joyous occasion into a funeral.

For officials serving in the capital, this was also a special time of year. Every year before the New Year, the Emperor would organize a grand banquet in the Great Xia Palace to celebrate the festival. Ministers and imperial relatives of the appropriate rank would be invited to the palace. Of course, men and women were seated separately. Ministers would enjoy themselves with the Emperor, while the women would be entertained by the Empress and concubines. Many ministers of lower rank would also be personally selected by the Emperor to enter the palace. Being selected was a great honor, something to boast about for half the year.

In short, both in the court and among the common people, everyone was busy preparing for the New Year.

The two women of General Pei’s household were naturally qualified to enter the palace. More than a month ago, Old Madam Pei had already summoned the embroidery workshop to take measurements for Pei Yuzhuo and carefully prepared five or six suitable outfits, intending to choose one after trying them on.

“Miss, let me help you change into another outfit.” Xiuyu was very proactive, pulling Pei Yuzhuo into the room. She didn’t really want to drag her mistress around like this, but after only four outfits, her mistress looked dejected.