Chapter 1 The Brothers

The brothers Situ Yi and Situ Jiong were tied up. Situ Jiong kept crying and begging for mercy, while Situ Yi kept cursing.

He cursed his father for being blind back then, for not seeing that the illegitimate son was a wolf in sheep's clothing, a wicked and rebellious seed.

He cursed that barbarian king Xiaogouzi (Little Dog), saying that if it weren't for him, that dog-like lowly thing wouldn't be where he was today, and yet he was now ungrateful.

He cursed those Chu people for taking over his Situ family's territory like a cuckoo in a magpie's nest.

He cursed those Yan people for their endless wars and said that they would not end well!

Finally,

when a large vat filled to the brim was carried over and placed in front of him,

he stopped cursing,

and began to beg loudly for mercy, crying and pleading with Zheng Fan not to execute him in this way.

Because if he died in this way, he would truly "stink for ten thousand years"!

The more fiercely he had cursed before, the more sincere his pleas were now.

Zheng Fan was very moved,

and ordered firewood to be added under the vat and lit.

However, to Zheng Fan's surprise, the Sword Saint was not present at the execution scene. When Zheng Fan found him, he discovered that the Sword Saint was standing behind a rockery in the courtyard, wiping the Longyuan Sword with withered grass leaves.

"I thought you would like it," Zheng Fan said.

The Sword Saint shook his head, then nodded, saying, "Indeed, not bad."

Punishing the Situ Yi brothers in this way was indeed satisfying, and the Sword Saint also admired Zheng Fan's ability to come up with such a method.

"But why aren't you standing there watching?"

"The smell is a bit too strong."

"Indeed."

"Besides, I can still hear the sounds from here."

"Mm."

The Sword Saint returned the Longyuan Sword to its sheath and said,

"Will there be any trouble for you to execute Situ Yi in this way?"

"As long as you are happy and feel relieved, my troubles don't matter."

"Really?"

"Really."

"He was once on the Dragon Throne," the Sword Saint said.

"What is he?"

"Heh." The Sword Saint stood up and said, "I had a very satisfying kill today."

"Then you must hurry up and recuperate, this is just an appetizer, the barbarians next are the real opponents."

Zheng Fan didn't mention the Chu people,

even though they were now meddling in the rear of the Chu army,

he had to cater to the Sword Saint's values in order to coax him.

Strictly speaking, from the Sword Saint's perspective, what was the difference between the Yan people entering Jin and the Chu people entering Jin?

Oh, the only difference was that the Chu people would actually cooperate with the barbarians.

But there was no essential difference.

"A sword becomes sharper with more grinding."

"I like those words," Zheng Fan smiled.

"I am not a Yan person after all. My sword can only be borrowed, but not given away."

The Sword Saint was giving a warning.

Clearly,

General Zheng's flattery was so thorough that it was like seeing a crack and inserting a needle.

The Sword Saint felt that under such hospitality, he had to make a plan in advance.

Once, a swordsman had made a similar plan with Zheng Fan, and that was Chen Daxia (Great Hero Chen).

To be honest,

Zheng Fan liked dealing with honest people. Chen Daxia was a true honest man, and the Sword Saint, while not strictly speaking an honest man, was still a rare person in this world who adhered to his own code of conduct.

Before Du Juan died, she dared to entrust her child to the Sword Saint, which was actually the greatest recognition.

As enemies, I am confident that you will not harm a child.

"You're joking. Although I practice the saber, I also love the sword. I am a Yan person, and you are a Jin person. Although the general trend now is that Jin generals are entering Yan, I can guarantee that your sword will only be pointed at the barbarians."

"Really?"

"Oh, this time there's a bit of an exception. Since the Chu people dare to violate the Great Xia Emperor's decree and join forces with the barbarians to fight among themselves, I think they still need to be taught a lesson. As for the future, whether I lead troops into Qian or lead troops into Chu, you don't need to participate."

"Agreed."

The Sword Saint agreed.

"There's one more thing."

"Speak."

"After the war, you should be returning to Shengle to start a family. You can continue to be a city guard if you want, or you can naturally retire and enjoy family warmth.

But I only ask that you, as a neighbor, help me if someone tries to sneak into Shengle to kill me in the future."

The Sword Saint smiled, nodded, and said,

"Agreed."

"That's settled then."

"Just like that?"

"You know, I'm afraid of death, very afraid of death, so I think that if you live in Shengle, I can sleep more soundly at night."

The bottom line,

is broken step by step,

slowly,

no hurry.

At the very least,

with Shatuo Queshi lying at home and the Sword Saint living next door, General Zheng felt that as long as he was in Shengle City, even if several martial arts grandmasters wanted to assassinate him, they would have to return empty-handed.

"You continue to listen to the sounds here, I'll go outside and take a look."

"You created this play, but you're not watching it yourself?"

Zheng Fan shook his head and said,

"I'm soft-hearted and can't stand killing."

The Sword Saint was speechless.

A good show was being staged in the residence, but whether the show was good or not was another matter, it certainly smelled a bit foul.

Accompanied by A'ming and Fan Li, Zheng Fan went directly to the city tower and found Liang Cheng.

Liang Cheng reported the casualties to Zheng Fan. In fact, there weren't many casualties, but what Zheng Fan was most concerned about was the spoils of war.

Thanks to the fact that this was a den of bandits, from Situ Yi, the "emperor," to the rebel generals below, after losing their life goals, they were only left with making money.

The city's residences and warehouses were truly stacked full.

These were all sinful riches, filled with "heinous crimes."

However, with their passing through their hands, Zheng Fan's side found it much more convenient to loot and plunder.

There was another reason why the wealth was so abundant: although the Chu people had seized Yupancheng (Jade Plate City), they ultimately didn't plan to break up with Situ Yi, this puppet emperor, perhaps because they felt it wasn't worth it. So when Situ Yi's little court left Yupancheng to make room, they brought all the plundered wealth to Fengxincheng (Serving New City) in carts large and small.

The volume was quite considerable.

"Find a nearby river or valley, and select some barbarian soldiers to hide the wealth," Zheng Fan decided.

This was actually a tradition on the Shengle side. They had done this during the first southern campaign to conquer Qian, hiding the wealth in one place first, and then taking it out and transporting it back through merchant caravans or other means after the war.

Why are there so many legends and stories about Zhang Xianzhong and King Chuang's treasures in later generations?

The reason is that when the bandits were on the run, they often couldn't transport the looted wealth in time, so they could only hide it on the spot and leave it for future use, or use it as capital for a comeback.

The difference was that in the past, Si Niang (Fourth Wife) needed to keep accounts here, but now that Si Niang wasn't here, and this time it was the Shengle army that was dispatched, there was no need to keep any account books.

"What about the surrendered soldiers and the civil and military officials of Situ Yi's new dynasty who didn't have time to escape? How should we deal with them?" Liang Cheng asked.

"Let them go, but only after we leave."

Zheng Fan yawned. The wind on the city tower was a bit strong and a bit cold.

"This subordinate heard that the lord is preparing to drown the Situ Yi brothers in a cesspool?"

"They're probably already being poured in."

"Will the lord doing this..."

"Are you questioning me?"

"This subordinate wouldn't dare."

"Heh, okay, then I'll tell you about it. Guess why I'm doing this."

"Is it to make the Sword Saint happy?" A'ming asked.

Zheng Fan shook his head and said, "That's one reason, but not the main one.

Let's put it this way, Li Bao is dead, and there are still 20,000 Northern Garrison troops in Quhe City, but they are essentially leaderless. The Yan court originally entrusted Quhe City to Li Bao and Licheng City to the Jingnan Marquis.

Now that Li Bao is gone, shouldn't its defense be transferred?

After the Jingnan Marquis finishes this battle, shouldn't he be rewarded?

The Jingnan Marquis himself may not care about any rewards, anyway, he has already been rewarded to the point where he can't be rewarded any further. Even if he gets a title of a different surname, it's just a change of title.

But the Jingnan Army under his command must be rewarded, otherwise, even if the Jingnan Marquis doesn't rebel, the Jingnan Army will have to agitate first. It is a great taboo to not reward meritorious service.

Wouldn't it be natural to take out Quhe City and divide it among the Jingnan Army's generals and commanders?

Even if Quhe City is still retained, and another Northern Garrison commander or someone sent by the court takes over, then they will inevitably open up another area within Cheng to be divided and occupied by the Jingnan Army.

The Situ family can retain Yingdu City, but the Yan Emperor will not allow them to continue to maintain actual control over the area.

Our Shengle has a good location, Quhe City is not far to the west, and the Situ family's original territory is to the east, so whether a piece is divided from the west or a piece is cut from the east, we can immediately become fat.

So, in this battle, we have to make more achievements, which is what is called packaging, packaging ourselves, creating momentum for ourselves, and increasing our reputation.

What kind of stories do the common people like to hear?

That I, Zheng Fan, captured Fengxin and killed the false emperor? It sounds good, but it lacks a bit of flavor, so I'll add some flavor to it.

And it just so happens that the Yan army suffered a defeat at Wangjiang not long ago. Whether it is the people or the court, they are eager to get a hearty victory to vent their anger, so I am specially cooking it for them.

Leaving those surrendered soldiers and civil and military officials alive is to let them quickly help spread this news and do free publicity for us."

"So, the lord is doing this to increase his reputation?"

"Yeah, that's about right. We strive to do six points and blow it up to ten points, so we have to cater to the audience. We perform what the common people like to hear.

As for how many barbarians we killed and how many Chu people we fought, that's another matter. They actually won't care too much about that.

Otherwise, why do the Yan people only sing praises of the Zhenbei Marquis but not praise the Jingnan Marquis during the opening of Jin?"

"The lord is far-sighted, and this subordinate admires him."

"The lord is visionary, and this subordinate admires him."

"Okay, stop flattering me. The reason why I deliberately did this, the reason why I specially risked coming here, is actually to earn some merit for the Jingnan Marquis as soon as possible.

It is good to have someone in the court to be an official, otherwise, no matter how many achievements you make, it will be useless.

To be honest, I find that the Jingnan Marquis is really good to me now, first he sent the Longyuan Sword, then he sent five thousand Jin soldiers, then he promoted me, and then he sent the Pixiu over.

Heh,

as long as we give the Jingnan Marquis a good reason and excuse,

when the spoils are divided,

he will definitely continue to take care of me.

While this heat hasn't passed, we can grab as much as we can. Don't be thin-skinned, who knows if there will be another chance after this."

"Hiss, why do I feel like this is a bit weird, do you guys feel that way?"

"No," Liang Cheng.

"Where is it weird?" A'ming.

"Like a mistress," Fan Li.