Chapter 1 When the Jingnan Marquis's Banner Appeared

When the Jingnan Marquis's banner appeared from the west, everything, in reality, could be considered settled.

Even if this army had been on a forced march for so many days, even if they were already exhausted, both men and horses, were only forcing themselves to hold on with their last bit of energy, but it was truly enough.

Last night, the Savages tried their best to bite open Snow Sea Pass, tearing and gnawing for an entire night, but in the end, they still couldn't break through. The sound of their crying as they retreated at dawn, in reality, had already announced their ending;

Not the heavens, not the Yan army, but themselves, had already announced it to themselves.

Therefore,

Without stopping, without setting up camp, without probing, without any specific tactics, and without any special instructions before the battle,

Tian Wujing, sitting on his Pixiu,

Simply pointed his Kunwu blade in the direction of the Savage camp.

Immediately,

The Yan cavalry behind him began to squeeze out the last bit of strength from their bodies and began their charge.

Before the sound of the Yan horses' hooves even entered the Savage camp, some of the Savages within the camp had already begun to flee. The rest, there were still many who had already knelt on the ground, dropped their weapons, kowtowed, and surrendered.

Although the Jingnan Marquis had issued an order not to take prisoners, the Yan army was not in a hurry to kill the surrendered at this time, but continued to pursue those Savage soldiers who attempted to resist and still maintained some semblance of organization.

The gates of Snow Sea Pass were opened from the inside at this moment,

The Shengle Army rode out,

They had guarded the city walls for so many days, and they could finally return to their original identity as cavalry. Echoing the Yan army led by the Jingnan Marquis, they charged over.

The fatigue of defending the city in a night of fierce fighting, there was no feeling of it at this time. They only knew that their persistence and dedication, on this day, had finally reached the moment of harvest. This joy and immense sense of accomplishment made them extremely excited. Moreover, the warhorses beneath them were also full of energy, and before long, under the leadership of Liang Cheng, they completed their merger with the Yan army coming from the west.

The Savages scattered at the mere sight of them. Even many of the Wanhus, the so-called tribal chieftains of the Savage tribes, also lowered their tribal banners and knelt there.

They were in despair.

The routed army, in fact, had its courage shattered by the elite Zhenbei and Jingnan troops led by the Jingnan Marquis along the Wangjiang line. Afterward, they were personally pursued all the way by Tian Wujing's army.

They arrived here less than a day earlier than the pursuing army. When they saw the Yan banner actually planted on Snow Sea Pass, that kind of blow and sense of absurdity was enough to crush people.

What's more, they had paid a huge price in casualties to attack the city for a whole night under the urging of their chieftains.

The string in their hearts could no longer be called taut, but had long since snapped and lay scattered on the ground.

Knowing that the Yan people might kill prisoners, they still didn't intend to resist. Their home could no longer be returned to, so they might as well be taken away by a Yan blade here, saving them from having to continue to suffer.

After all, destroying the psychological defenses of an army is actually easier and more effective than destroying their bodies.

This was not a confrontation; it was already the Yan army unilaterally cleaning up the battlefield.

The battle lasted until the afternoon. Except for a small number of Savages who fled again, outside Snow Sea Pass, most of the Savages were either killed or captured.

The Jingnan Marquis rode his Pixiu, surrounded by a group of knights, and arrived at Snow Sea Pass.

The walls of Snow Sea Pass could be said to be riddled with holes, and below, the corpses piled up in layers upon layers.

Fortunately, it was still winter, so there was no need to worry about the smell and the epidemic for the time being.

Zheng Fan hadn't led his troops out with Liang Cheng earlier; he had his own task.

Not riding a horse,

Zheng Fan walked out from inside the city,

His face was covered in dried blood,

On his body,

Some wounds were still bleeding.

Zheng Fan walked to Tian Wujing's front,

Kneeled on one knee,

"This humble general, Zheng Fan, pays respects to the Marquis!"

Tian Wujing sat on the Pixiu, looking at Zheng Fan kneeling in front of him.

In fact, when he used Zheng Fan's troops as a surprise force, he didn't expect Zheng Fan to be able to do this.

It's no exaggeration to say,

Zheng Fan's Shengle Army directly played a role in laying the groundwork for the entire campaign.

This was indeed a person who knew how to get things done, a person who was good at doing what you told him to do to the utmost.

The first time,

When Zheng Fan led the Cui Liu Fort barbarian cavalry south to Qian, Tian Wujing led his troops to save him. He didn't think so much, but just felt that this little garrison commander was quite bold.

As for the ambition and desire to climb up that his behavior revealed,

For those in high positions, this was nothing. What those in high positions feared was that you were not enterprising.

After that, as they came into contact slowly, he discovered that this person was quite interesting.

Each time he carried out an assignment, he could handle it very beautifully. Although he had some minor flaws, the merits outweighed the demerits.

Everyone, living in this world, has their own mask. After wearing it for too long, it's difficult to take it off. It will fuse with your face, and you've long been accustomed to living with it.

But some things can be seen through the mask.

For example, this guy in front of him once said in the valley that whoever moved his godson, he would kill their entire family.

Tian Wujing believed that sentence,

Because what was active beneath this guy's layers of masks was a true sense of unconstraint.

Because Tian Wujing didn't know that Zheng Fan and his seven subordinates were outsiders;

For a person who had already experienced "euthanasia" and seven characters who originally lived in a "comic world,"

This life,

Every day was a gain, so naturally, they had to live freely.

They could work hard for their goals and enjoy the sense of fulfillment and accomplishment in the process, but there was really no need to excessively wrong themselves.

Many times, whether it was Zheng Fan or Blind or the other Demon Lords,

They weren't keen on rebellion,

But their true nature was unwilling to compromise.

Zheng Fan was a little puzzled. Had he been kneeling for a bit too long?

As Zheng Fan slightly raised his head to look up,

Tian Wujing opened his mouth and said:

"You've worked hard."

"To serve the Marquis to the death! To serve Great Yan to the death!"

General Zheng had always been a person who pursued details and exquisite living, as could be seen from the carvings on his cigarette case;

At this time, who was placed in front and who was placed behind was also a matter of importance.

Nothing else, ever since he recognized the Little Marquis as his godson and took in that child,

His little foundation could be considered completely tied to the Jingnan Marquis.

Tian Wujing got off the Pixiu and walked to Zheng Fan's front.

"How's the injury?"

"Replying to the Marquis, it's just a small injury, nothing to worry about."

As he said that,

Zheng Fan made a show of standing up,

Then his body swayed,

And he trembled, supporting himself on the ground with his hand, and knelt down again.

"Hiss……… ah………”

His mouth opened,

His lips trembled slightly,

And he squeezed out a smile,

Barely saying:

"It's really nothing, Marquis..."

"Sigh."

Tian Wujing sighed,

Wearing his armor, he squatted down in front of Zheng Fan.

"Uh………”

Zheng Fan was a little confused.

A playful smile appeared on the corner of Tian Wujing's mouth.

Zheng Fan's face was a little embarrassed,

Everything,

Was understood without words.

At this time, a Jingnan army adjutant came riding a horse and saluted Tian Wujing on horseback:

"Marquis, this humble general was just about to execute the Savages, but………”

As he said that,

The adjutant looked at Zheng Fan again and continued:

"But Commander Zheng of Shengle said not to kill these Savage prisoners yet."

Not taking prisoners was a military order issued by the Jingnan Marquis. Throughout the entire Three Jin region, at this moment, no one dared to disobey his will.

Tian Wujing looked at Zheng Fan and said:

"You want them?"

Zheng Fan licked his lips and said:

"Marquis, what great slaves they would make. They are all strong and sturdy. It would be too cheap for them to just kill them off like that.

You are clear on what the situation is like in my Shengle City, Marquis. Both the workshops and the mines are short of people. It would be better to let these Savages toil under the whip for the rest of their lives, toiling until they die, to make more contributions to my Jingnan army and to Great Yan."

Others didn't dare to disobey the Jingnan Marquis's military order,

But Zheng Fan dared to.

This time, outside the city, they had captured at least nearly twenty thousand Savage prisoners. Using these prisoners to work in the workshops and to mine in the mines that Xue San and Blind had found in the Heavenly Fracture Mountain Range, wouldn't that be great?

Tian Wujing nodded and said, "As you wish."

"Thank you, Marquis."

Tian Wujing then ordered: "Order Chen Yang to clean up and take stock of the battlefield."

"Yes, Marquis."

The adjutant went to relay the order.

Tian Wujing turned his gaze to Zheng Fan again and said:

"Do you need this Marquis to help you up?"

"How could I, how could I?"

Zheng Fan stood up quickly.

Tian Wujing also stood up and pointed to the city, saying:

"Is there still food in the city?"

"Yes, yes. We've been saving and economizing, thinking we could hold on for as long as possible. I didn't expect you, Marquis, to descend like a divine soldier and defeat the Savages so quickly. There's still a lot of stored grain in the city. You wait, Marquis. The brothers' meals will be prepared soon."

As he said that, Zheng Fan turned sideways, signaling for Tian Wujing to enter the city with him first.

The soldiers eat soldiers' food, and the leaders eat leaders' food.

Anyway, they weren't short of food for the time being, and since the battle was over, the citizens of Cheng might not be able to eat their fill, but the Yan army would definitely not go hungry.

Tian Wujing walked into Snow Sea Pass. This strategic pass was once the glory of the Jin ancestors.

When this strategic pass was first built, the Jin Emperor of that generation had personally led civil and military officials here to perform the Feng Chan Grand Ceremony.

Not on the top of a famous mountain, nor on the bank of a great river, but within Snow Sea Pass, which was enough to show the Jin people's deep attachment to this strategic pass.

At that time, the Great Xia had already perished, but the Jin Emperor of that generation still used this move to report back to the "Great Xia Emperor," the Yu family had made continuous progress over generations, finally achieving the great task of expelling the Savages and glorifying the Three Jin!

Now,

Tian Wujing, as the Marquis of Yan, had come here,

And this city, too, had raised the black dragon flag of Great Yan.

It couldn't help but make people sigh at the changes of the world.

Tian Wujing walked in front, and Zheng Fan followed behind, half a step behind. There were no armored soldiers following them.

First, both sides' subordinates knew that these two had some things to say;

Second, the battle had already been pacified, so there wasn't much of a crisis. Even if there were assassins, with the strength of the Jingnan Marquis, tsk…

"Tell me about it."

"Yes, Marquis."

Zheng Fan began to tell the Jingnan Marquis in detail about what happened after he led his troops across Wangjiang and went deep into the enemy territory.

Of course, he definitely used some sleight of hand in this.

For example, the one who commanded the army to attract the Savage encirclement with a feigned retreat and then attacked Snow Sea Pass by surprise was not that zombie, but General Zheng.

For example, the one who designed these trebuchets was not Xue San, but also General Zheng.

For example, in the city defense battle, the one who led the death squads to patch up leaks everywhere was not Fan Li, but still General Zheng!

Tian Wujing listened all the time, his expression didn't change much.

This feeling was like a student completing a work of his own and then taking it to his teacher for comment.

Finally, Zheng Fan finished speaking.

Tian Wujing nodded and said:

"You've done well."

Just those four words of comment.

Because, from the perspective of military deployment, timing, and cavalry penetration,

Zheng Fan,

Oh no,

Liang Cheng's command was completely fine.

Even the strictest teacher would find it difficult to nitpick on this paper, because this paper was copied by this student from a big shot in the same industry.

Zheng Fan immediately said modestly:

"This subordinate has never dared to forget the Marquis's meticulous teachings to this subordinate. This subordinate has kept the words of the Marquis in his heart, ruminating and savoring them from time to time, learning and understanding them."

"Don't be humble. To tell you the truth, in this Marquis's view, there are not many people in the entire Great Yan who can fight better than you, General Zheng."

"This subordinate is still far from it, far from it."

"What you lack is only military strength."

Tian Wujing hit the nail on the head.

Zheng Fan had always felt that Tian Wujing was amazingly talented, both in martial arts and in the way of the military. He was an absolute genius, but his own Liang Cheng was really not inferior to him.

Compared to each other, what was lacking was that Tian Wujing had his direct line, the Jingnan Army, and could also mobilize all the troops of Great Yan, while what Liang Cheng could use was only the Shengle Army.

Even Xue San, if you let him have the power of a country behind him to build the trebuchets and other implements he designed, the effect would definitely be different.

Si Niang managing finances would definitely be easier than those old men in the Ministry of Revenue.

Even if you summoned Blind, he could also come up with something more inspiring than what those people in the Ministry of Rites talked about, such as "the Son of Heaven" and "loyalty to the sovereign and love for the country."

Everyone was not bad,

Strength was restricted by oneself,

The stage,

Was also restricted by one's official position.

How should he put it? He couldn't be anxious; he had to take his time.

"This Marquis just saw the trebuchets in the city. Why didn't you report them to this Marquis before the battle?"

Zheng Fan was stunned for a moment,

In fact,

Back then, in the camp outside Yingdu City, when they were waiting for the Jingnan Marquis, Xue San had specially trained a group of people to make these implements, but they took extremely strict confidentiality measures.

It could only be said that in this era, there was no such thing as patent rights.

To this,

Zheng Fan could only say straightforwardly:

"I wanted to keep it as my own treasure, to make a contribution."

"Heh heh."

Tian Wujing didn't get angry at Zheng Fan. Instead, he walked into the residence that Zheng Fan lived in inside Snow Sea Pass.

"Go prepare some food."

Zheng Fan instructed the armored soldier guarding the door.

"Yes, General."

Immediately, Zheng Fan accompanied Tian Wujing into the residence.

Tian Wujing stood in the courtyard, looking at the rocking chair and coffee table placed in the center of the courtyard, as well as the half-eaten plate of dried fruit on the coffee table.

Zheng Fan also saw it and immediately blushed.

"General Zheng's days are indeed hard."

Apart from last night, the Savages were not very strong most of the time. There was even a period of "downtime" in the middle.

Hearing this, Zheng Fan replied with a serious expression:

"Marquis, if the commander-in-chief is relaxed, the morale of the army can be stabilized."

If the commander-in-chief was confident and calm, then the soldiers below would naturally feel at ease when they saw it.

Many times, this kind of "show" was indeed needed to boost morale and stabilize the army's morale.

"You've come up with a good excuse."

"Marquis, you flatter me. In fact, this humble general sleeps with the door wide open, leaning here, in order for the soldiers passing by the gate to see it.

Because of this, this humble general contracted a cold a few days ago and just recovered."

"Heh."

Tian Wujing didn't sit down in the rocking chair. Instead, he habitually sat on the threshold in front of the main room.

In fact, it wouldn't be very comfortable to sit in a chair when wearing armor. The armor on your back would rest against the back of the chair. On the contrary, sitting casually like this was really comfortable.

Zheng Fan sat on the ground next to him.

"Where's Wujiang?"

Tian Wujing asked.

"Replying to the Marquis, His Highness the Crown Prince has gone to Snow Plains on a diplomatic mission. In advance, in order to prevent the tribes of Snow Plains from discovering the abnormality of Snow Sea Pass and attacking here together with the Savages inside the pass, His Highness the Crown Prince took the initiative to volunteer to go to Snow Plains to persuade the various tribes.

Judging from the current situation, the effect is very good. Even now, although there are occasional small groups of Savage cavalry coming to probe, there has ultimately been no large Savage army coming to attack the city."

The official statement was the official statement. Tian Wujing was not a fool and naturally understood the meaning in Zheng Fan's words.

As for what Crown Prince volunteered, he would just listen to it. Based on Jingnan Marquis's understanding of Zheng Fan, this idea must have come from Zheng Fan.

How could he persuade the Snow Plains tribes with empty words?

He couldn't give them gold, silver, and wealth, so he could only make promises.

There must also be many taboo things in this.

"This Marquis knows."

Zheng Fan breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that the Jingnan Marquis's words meant that he would help him clean up the mess later.

It was okay for him, Zheng Fan, the Shengle General, to do some taboo things. Even if the Yan Emperor didn't pursue it, it might cause a lot of trouble and accountability;

But if the Jingnan Marquis did it, then no one would dare to say a word.

You must know that the Zhenbei Marquis could even roast lamb legs in His Majesty's Imperial Garden. Which short-sighted censor would dare to impeach him?

In the end, if everything was attributed to what the Marquis had instructed, then there would be no problem.

As for whether this would affect his own achievements, it might be possible with other leaders, but Zheng Fan was really not worried about this with Tian Wujing.

If he dared to deduct his achievements,

Then he could just go back and spank the Little Marquis's butt.

Moreover, the milk powder money that Tian Wujing had given him in the past six months was really frighteningly generous.

"Not easy."

Tian Wujing said again.

"You've worked hard" was an acknowledgement of your efforts;

"Not easy" was a recognition of your achievements.

Zheng Fan knew that this was to establish his meritorious position in this campaign. He immediately knelt down on one knee.

This time,

He didn't say any big words,

But pretended to be choked up,

To show how difficult it was for him.

Who knew,

Just as he was brewing his emotions,

A pretty young woman suddenly walked out of the bedroom inside. Her hair was tied up, she was wearing a brocade jacket, her figure was plump but not fat, her face was rosy and spring-like, and she had a delicate charm.

Tian Wujing turned his face and looked at her.

General Zheng, who was kneeling on the ground, was dumbfounded for a moment. Who arranged this!

Tian Wujing laughed twice in anger:

"Heh heh, General Zheng, you are really not easy. If this Marquis had come later, would you even have been able to produce a child?"

The young woman, who had finally had a good night's sleep last night, had not yet awakened from her muddle,

But when she heard the word "child,"

She immediately realized it,

And subconsciously shouted:

"Child, where's my child, where's my child!"

"………” General Zheng.